BASKETBALL
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About 150 hardcore Hawks fans made the trip to Sydney on Saturday night to see Wollongong's 69-63 defeat of the Kings.
The Hawks appreciated the support and saluted their loyal followers after the gutsy come-from-behind victory.
Wollongong import Kevin Tiggs has played in a lot of places and believes Hawks supporters are among the most passionate he has seen.
"Our fans never give up," Tiggs said.
"Even when our record was 2-7, most fans would've probably given up or booed, but they never do that. That shows right there that the history here is big.
"They feel like we've still got a chance and we still feel like we've still got a chance, and we're just showing what we can do."
Wollongong looked like they were in for a long night on Saturday, scoring just four points in the opening eight minutes.
The visitors had scraped together 11 points by the end of the first quarter and trailed by six, but they gradually found their rhythm and were only down 35-33 at half-time.
"We were getting the ball where we wanted, but we were just missing shots," Tiggs said of the early dry spell.
"When we warmed up we started making them."
Tiggs had his eye in most of the night, hitting 7/11 shots (3/5 threes) for a team-high 18 points.
Wollongong made 11/26 threes as a team, while the Kings were a dismal 2/16.