On return to his hometown, Isaac White was superb off the bench with 16 points and four rebounds, while teammate Emmett Naar had seven assists and four boards as the Hawks claimed an 81-73 victory over the 36ers.

The result saw Illawarra strengthen their hold on fourth spot and stay well in the hunt for this year's NBL playoffs.

"He (White) was huge. Emmett and Isaac bond on the work that they've done. They started here when I was in lockdown in Melbourne, they were working out three hours a day with the assistant coach," Goorjian said.

"So it's been a tireless, long journey and it's great to see them get some reward when all eyes are on the team. I was really proud of Isaac tonight, he hit big shots, played good on the defensive end. But you need someone to deliver the ball and we played middle pick and roll, and I thought that's Emmett's thing. And he put the ball right where we needed it when it mattered."

Read more: Hawks survive late scare to beat fast-finishing Adelaide

Illawarra had led by 21 points at three-quarter time before the 36ers surged back in the last quarter in front of their home crowd on Friday night. In the end, two late clutch Tyler Harvey three-pointers proved crucial for the Hawks.

It was an otherwise quiet night for the Hawks star. Instead, it was White, Naar and Sam Froling (19 points, eight rebounds) who shone for the visitors.

The Hawks now fly back home to face the Taipans at the WEC on Sunday. Goorjian said returning to Wollongong with a tough away win would give his players plenty of confidence.

"It's huge. You lose that one, after what took place with Melbourne (102-87 loss on Tuesday night), it's an embarrassment and then you take a whack on the road. Coming back home would have made it a lot more difficult to lift these guys," he said.

"But I think this is going to energise them. But any game, there's nothing easy for us all year. It's been this way, but I know I've got a team that's connected and energised, and they know what's at stake.

"I love the situation we're in, wherever it goes. How do you build a culture? You have to play in games that matter. And this organisation, it's had a great history but the last two years, it's been over mid-year. And a lot of these guys have only been part of the team that amount of time. So to play in games of importance starts building the culture. And it's gone totally different than I thought. I thought Deng Adel and (Cam) Bairstow would be a key part of the development for these young guys, and they've had to bite off a lot more than I anticipated coming into this first year. And coming into this back stretch, it excites me when I see something like tonight."

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