With Wollongong trailing by three at the end of the third quarter, an energised Ervin scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth period. He also collected five assists and two steals.

‘‘He got a lot of deep penetration and finished on the rim well, and also dished off well,’’ Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod said.

‘‘That’s what we need to get so it was really pleasing to see him have that kind of performance.’’

Ervin’s cousin Kevin Ervin passed away three weeks ago and he has vowed to play the remainder of the season in his honour.

Hawks captain Oscar Forman believes he has noticed a change in his teammate.

‘‘For the past couple of weeks he’s started to pick it up at training and be a lot more of a dogged player on defence,’’ Forman said.

‘‘He’s getting up the court with some one on one defence and getting after people, and that really spurs us as a team. It’s a lot easier to play with energy.’’

Ervin’s backcourt comrades Rhys Martin and Jahii Carson also shone in the win over Sydney.

Carson tallied a team-high 16 points, while Martin was superb in crunch time, pouring in 11 of his 15 points in the final quarter.

‘‘We went small for certain reasons and it paid off for us,’’ McLeod said.

‘‘We played a team game and we made some crucial plays down the stretch,’’ Forman said.

‘‘Childress was getting going and he’s a very tough cover one on one, but the last five or six plays when we needed stops, we banded together and came up with stops. We had a purpose about us in what we were doing and it showed on the court.’’

Wollongong have won three of 15 games and need to win at least 10 of their final 13 games to qualify for the playoffs.

The Hawks host Melbourne on Friday and are at home against Cairns and Perth over the next fortnight.