THE National Basketball League (NBL) action continues to astound fans around Australia, with the Cairns Taipans producing a marvellous win at the buzzer against the Illawarra Hawks at WIN Entertainment Centre on Thursday night.

With the game on the line in the dying seconds, it was Lat Mayen who proved to be the hero for Cairns and the villain for the Hawks, knocking down a three-pointer as the siren sounded to clinch the win.

It is a big result for the Taipans, who have now moved into the top six and knocked the Hawks down to seventh. Although Cairns came into the game on the back of an impressive overtime win over Adelaide last round, Illawarra has been one of the best sides in the NBL over the past six weeks, and had home court advantage to boot.

However, the Taipans overcame several obstacles to snag a one-point win and stay right in the hunt for a spot in the postseason.

Illawarra Hawks (92) def. by Cairns Taipans (93)

It was a tough set of circumstances for the Taipans to overcome. Not only were they missing key bigs Sam Waardenberg and Bobi Klintman, but a lopsided foul count (the Hawks shot 32 free throws to Cairns’ 11 for the match) meant that key players such as Tahjere McCall, Akoldah Gak and Taran Armstrong all were forced off the court over the course of the game.

Despite these challenges, the Taipans remained in the fight thanks to some late buckets from McCall before he fouled out.

Illawarra import and NBA veteran Gary Clark threatened to win the game off his own hand, taking advantage of an undermanned Taipans frontcourt and getting to his spots on a consistent basis. He conjured a three-point play with 12 seconds to go that not only gave his side the lead, but sent McCall to the bench after the guard picked up his fifth foul.

Trailing by two, the Taipans put the ball in the hands of Patrick Miller for the winning play, and the import looked to use his strong frame to drive to the hoop. His shot was blocked, but Miller tracked down the rebound and kicked out to a wide-open Mayen on the perimeter, who knocked down the winner in front of the Hawks’ bench.

Mayen finished with 11 points on 3/4 shooting from behind the arc, but his performance will be best remembered for the final shot he made. McCall was tremendous for the victors as well, posting 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists before fouling out, making some big shots as well.

For the Hawks, it is hard to fault the performance of Clark, who was near-perfect from the field and was almost the match-winner. He ended the game with 36 points on 12/15 shooting from the field, with Illawarra going to him when it needed a basket down the stretch and the forward delivering.

The Taipans will look to make it three on the trot when they face off against the Bullets in the final game of the round on Sunday, while the Hawks will be eager to get things back on track when they take on the 36ers at home on Saturday night.