A gritty fourth quarter has sealed Gold Coast a much-needed 94-86 NBL win over the Hawks in Wollongong on Friday night.
Adris Deleon scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth to help guide the Blaze home and keep them firmly in the playoff picture, while Ayinde Ubaka produced a team-high 24 points for the Hawks.
The Hawks had few answers for Gold Coast's front-court combination of Mark Worthington (26 points) and Anthony Petrie (19 points), who accounted for 19 of their team's 30-point second quarter that created a handy 51-43 half-time buffer.
Petrie carried the early offensive load, scoring the Blaze's first nine points as his duel with former team-mate Glen Saville produced the first 11 points of the game.
Worthington scored the Gold Coast's next six points, but a Mat Campbell triple and four late points from Rhys Martin saw the Hawks poke their heads in front 22-21 at quarter-time.
After eight lead changes early in the second stanza, a pair of buckets by Petrie helped spark a 16-2 run for the Blaze, Worthington capping the surge with consecutive three-pointers to give the visitors a healthy eight-point lead at the main break.
Courtesy of five unanswered points from Adam Gibson, the Blaze led by as much as 12 in the third, but threes by Campbell and Oscar Forman helped the Hawks chip away at the deficit.
When Hawks centre Larry Davidson scored four late points and Deleon gifted the home team a pair of free throws on a technical foul, Gold Coast's lead had been reduced to 67-65.
Ubaka gave the Hawks their first lead since the second quarter at 73-72 with a pull-up three, setting up a thrilling final five minutes but Deleon delivered victory for Gold Coast.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, wollongong-2500 First posted February 24, 2012 22:29:36
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