The Illawarra Hawks have ended a run of nine successive NBL losses by defeating a slumping Melbourne United 93-79 with Sam Froling the hero after setting a career-high mark of 29 points.
Averaging just over 77 points per game, the Hawks thrilled the loyal home fans at WIN Entertainment Centre on Monday night as Froling's hot start put his side on the path to just their second win of the season.
Froling played inspired basketball in the opening period with a 16-point haul as Illawarra produced their highest-scoring quarter of any game this season.
The Hawks then withstood a series of surges from the visitors as Melbourne sank to ninth on the ladder with their fifth loss in a row.
Eclipsing his previous high mark of 27 points set against United in a double overtime loss in round five, the 22-year-old Froling described the breakthrough result as "massive" for the club's development.
"This season we've had ups and downs ... there's probably a few that we felt like we should have won and, you know, there were some big shots that ended it for us," Froling told ESPN.
A strong all-round game from Michael Frazier II (16 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and 15 points from Tyler Harvey also proved invaluable for the Hawks.
"We showed a lot of fight. I fouled out in the fourth (quarter) and the guys stepped up, Tyler started going off and I think it shows that we can compete with everyone in this league," Froling said.
"We've got a bit of a rough run but hopefully, this kick-starts us a little bit."
Froling made six of his seven shots in the opening period, including two from beyond the arc, to help put the Hawks ahead 31-25 then managed to extend the lead to 53-45 by halftime despite an improved showing from United at the defensive end.
Melbourne's Chris Goulding became the 11th NBL player to make 1000 three-pointers for their career after hitting his third triple of the game early in the second quarter.
A 7-0 start to the second half had United poised to take the lead but Illawarra responded with the next eight points before Harvey bumped the Hawks ahead 75-60 with his third three-pointer of the game.
Rayjon Tucker paced United with 27 points but it wasn't enough to prevent the visitors from dropping their 10th game of the season and facing a major challenge to keep their run of five straight semi-finals appearances alive.
"You can't split these next eight games, we've got to get a run on ... you get to 14 losses and you're in trouble," coach Dean Vickerman said as they prepare to host Brisbane on Saturday.
