ILLAWARRA'S finals push is all but over after the Wildcats hammered what looks to be the final nail in their playoffs coffin in Perth on Friday night.
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The Hawks produced one of their better performances of the season in the 104-90 win, getting withing five with just two minutes to play. but ultimately came up short.
MVP favourite Bryce Cotton did the most damage for the hosts, finishing with 27 points and seven assists, while Terrico White was a close second with 26.
Nick Kay continued tormenting his former club with yet another double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds to go with five assists.
It saw the hosts lead by as much as 14 midway through the clash, though the Hawks got within four late before the Cats closed the show.
Rob Beveridge shook things up in the second quarter, giving youngsters Nic Pozoglou and Marshall Nelson rare live time alongside fellow rookies Emmett Naar and Daniel Grida.
It was far from a cue-in-the-rack move, with the youthful line-up sparking the Hawks along with regular bench spark plug Jordair Jett who finished with 19 points.
Brian Conklin relished the match-up with Kay, leading the Hawks with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Cedric Jackson had arguably his best game of the season with 11 points and five dimes. Dave Andersen (11 points) was the other Hawk in double digits.
They'll need a remarkable turn of good fortune to feature in the post-season, with even a 4-0 finish to the season leaving them short of the 16 wins required to guarantee a finals berth.
Sydney did the Hawks a favour in the preceding clash, edging Brisbane by two in a thriller, and they'll retain the slimmest of hopes heading into Monday's home clash with Cairns should the Taipans topple Adelaide on Saturday.
If Sydney can repeat the job on the Bullets Sunday the Hawks will head to Brisbane in the next round with a glimmer of hope, but they're relying on both the Bullets and the 36ers to to fall off a cliff down the home stretch of the season.
The visitors produced a strong start, shooting out to a 6-2 lead on buckets from Conklin and Jackson. It turned quickly with White grabbing two triples and Cotton opening his account with a three as the hosts re-took the initiative with an 8-0 run.
White grabbed four more while Blanchfield kept things ticking over for the Hawks with six points. A slam from Cottton on the Hawks third inbound turnover gave the Cats a 20-14 lead.
Conklin pegged it back with an and-one but was trumped by a four-point play from Cotton at the other end, before Clint Steindl had back-to-back threes as the lead swelled 11.
Grida pegged it back with his first three but Steindl had the final say of the term from mid-range, taking a nine-point buffer into the first break.
Jett exploded out of the break, with two lay-ups and a three to quickly get his side back within two and force Trevor Gleeson into a quick timeout.
He had another triple, though Kay chimed in with his first from long range to keep a four-point cushion. Martin backed it up as it quickly went back out to nine.
Andersen and White traded threes, while Nelson chimed in with his first, though Cotton added four more from the line to push the margin back out to 11.
Conklin had four down the stretch to keep the Hawks within reach at 60-52 at halftime. Kay had four on an 8-4 run after the resumption forcing Beveridge into a timeout with the margin at 12.
Kevin White dropped a three, while Conklin had an and-one and a weaving drive to the basket from Jackson pulled it back to four.
Steindl and Jett traded threes to keep it that way, with Jesse Wagstaff dropping his first points from long range to give the hosts a seven-point buffer at the final change.
The Hawks had a 6-4 run to start the fourth but a three from Cotton against gave the Cats the advantage.
A questionable technical foul called on Jackson proved a major momentum swing but the Hawks wouldn't go away, with a three from Blanchfield bringing them back within five with two minutes to play.
It was ultimately as close as they got, with White and Cotton closing the show to book their side's 33rd straight finals appearance.