Rhys Martin in action against the Perth Wildcats last month. Picture: ADAM McLEAN
Rhys Martin would have swapped every one of his career-high 28 points for a victory on Saturday night against New Zealand.
Martin was outstanding in the two-point loss, nailing 6/7 three-point bombs and tallying five steals and three assists.
"At the end of the day it's all about the wins," the 190-centimetre guard said after the game.
"Everybody's gotta be bringing it each night and we didn't have it tonight."
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Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis tipped his hat to Martin after his team's narrow win.
"Rhys is a great player," Lemanis said.
"He's effective, he can shoot it, he can make great pass decisions off the dribble. He's got a good handle and he's hard to get after and turn him over.
"I've always really liked Rhys and over the last 18 months he's really developed into a hell of a player."
The Hawks were pulverised under the boards yet again, grabbing just 22 rebounds to the Breakers' 39.
Rivals have pounded Wollongong 283-188 in the rebound battle over the past seven games.
Despite their rebounding woes, the Hawks have somehow managed to go down to the wire in their past three games.
"We're getting smashed on the boards and we're only losing games by small margins," Martin said.
"If we can just tighten up some areas ... even if we still get beat on the boards but it's only by two or three rebounds, we're going to beat teams by 10."