Illawarra simply couldn’t miss after the break, quickly turning a six point half time deficit into a 19 point third quarter time lead.

They outscored Cairns 40-15 in third and looked like running away with the match.

Cairns had other ideas.

The Taipans surged back into the contest in the fourth and got within four points at 88-84 with a little over a minute on the clock.

Fortunately for the hosts, AJ Ogilvy steadied the ship.

Illawarra’s centre was the clear standout again scoring 36 points and grabbing 11 boards.

Kirk Penney added 17 and Kevin Lisch 16.

“We are still finding our way,” Hawks coach Rob Beveridge said.

“I said to the boys in the change room that we are now understanding the style of game we want to play.

“I thought we were way too tight in the first half. There was a lot of shots that we didn’t take.

“That’s what we spoke about at half time.

“Just come out and play loose.

“If you are open shoot the ball and it was just beautiful.”

Early in the match, Illawarra struggled to get into their offense but managed to stay with the Taipans.

It was 22-22 at the first change following two showstopping dunks at either end of the floor.

Torrey Craig threw the hammer down before Jarrad Weeks stole the ball for the Hawks and slammed home a reverse dunk.

Cairns edged away in the second and were 38-29 up when Stephen Weigh hit a jumper.

They held 48-42 advantage at the break, but the match soon changed complexion.

After shooting just 2/10 in the first half, Penney found his range at the beginning of the third.

Penney hit two three’s to bring the Hawks within touching distance and they led 54-53 when Ogilvy hit a pair of free throws.

Illawarra went on to hit 6/7 three’s for the quarter to lead 82-63 at the final change.

Cairns rallied in the fourth with a 21-4 run and looked a realistic chance of stealing the match when Craig hit a driving lay-up to bring them within four at 86-82.

It was as close as they’d come.

Markel Starks led Cairns with 20 points, including several crucial buckets down the stretch while Craig was solid off the bench with 17.

“They had five offensive rebounds in the third quarter and all happened really quick. They steamrolled,” Taipans coach Aaron Fearne said.

“They got transition buckets and [were] rebounding. That is just effort.

“They just rolled and rolled.

“We went really small and started switching everything because that was the only way we could try and slow them down.”

Illawarra next play Perth Wildcats at home on Wednesday night.