THE Illawarra Hawks continued their surge to the top six NBL (National Basketball League) play-in tournament, defeating the New Zealand Breakers by four points at WIN Entertainment Centre.

Looking to continue their momentum following a win against the Perth Wildcats on Thursday night, the Hawks eye off winning the season series over the Breakers. The Breakers also looked to keep their winning form rolling, following their victory over the JackJumpers on Friday night.

However, it was the Hawks that prevailed, resuming their charge up the standings at the pointy end of the 2023/24 fixture.

Illawarra Hawks (89) def. New Zealand Breakers (85)

Both teams were even for majority of the first quarter, shooting at 75 per cent from three-point range, and the two sides shoot relatively well from the field (7/15 at 47 per cent from the Hawks, compared to the Breakers, 9/17 at 53 per cent).

The Breakers were efficient on the defensive end in the second quarter, going on a 9-3 scoring run, able to win the ball back defensively and winning the points from turnovers category in the first half, 11-3.

Gary Clark was the major scorer in the first half, finishing with 19 points. The Hawks were able to turn around the second half, winning the third quarter, 22-20 and last quarter, 25-17.

The Hawks found contributions off the bench in the third quarter, with Justin Robinson, Lachlan Olbrich and Todd Blanchfield all providing a scoring punch, combining for 18 points at the final break.

Both teams had scoring runs of their own in the final two minutes of the game, with the Hawks coming up with some clutch plays down the stretch, resulting in a 89-85 win.

Clark was impactful on both ends of the floor, finishing with 29 points, eight rebounds and one steal. Tyler Harvey also stepped up in the second half, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds and one assist, shooting 8/14 from the field and 6/7 from two-point range.