Clint Steindl was the sniper and Jack McVeigh the executioner as Tasmania moved closer to Illawarra in the battle for an NBL finals spot, with a 81-77 home win over the Hawks.
The JackJumpers led by as much as 19 in the third quarter on Sunday and by 12 with just under a minute and a half to go, but that gap was twice slashed to two inside the final 43 seconds .
McVeigh, who finished with 19 points, ensured Tasmania held on, making a three-point play and a separate layup in that frantic final minute.
"It was a heck of a win for us, I thought we played really well for 35 minutes and I think fatigue set in in the last five (minutes)," JackJumpers' coach Scott Roth said.
"Difficult game in Cairns (on Friday) and then travel all the way down yesterday and get in here late in the afternoon and an early game today.
"Its a credit to our guys to bounce back, resilient, extremely gritty."
Tasmania captain Steindl finished with a game-high 20, shooting 70 per cent from the field and nailing six of his nine three-point attempts.
'He's a sniper and a class guy," Roth said.
His team made 14 three-pointers while the misfiring Hawks shot a miserable 24 per cent from long range, landing just eight from 33.
The sixth-placed JackJumpers moved to 11-9, just one win behind Illawarra (11-8).
Roth insisted he hasn't focused on ladder placings all season, but praised the selflessness and work ethic of his players, who continue to confound the sceptics after dropping six of their first eight games.
"With people looking around the country and wondering ' are they for real or not' our team has earned the right to stick our head above 500," Roth said.
Goorjian drew some encouragement from Illawarra's late fightback and believed they still controlled their own destiny because of their draw.
"As far as execution goes and defensive breakdowns, they had us, they moved the ball better than we did, they defended better in the half court than we did," Goorjian said.
"There's still nine games to play in this thing, we're not out of it but this is a real kick In the guts, its one you have to get.
"But I liked the way we finished the game, there was no quit in us, we could have let that thing go from 15 to 30 and we didn't, we fought back and gave ourselves a chance to win."
Antonius Cleveland scored seven early points as Illawarra shot to a 9-2 lead, but a Steindl bucket gave Tasmania a 16-15 quarter time lead.
The skipper the hit two threes early In the second quarter and Tasmania ended the term with a 14-0 run to lead 47-32 at the half.
Tyler Harvey topscored for Illawarra with 16, but made just six of 19 field goal tries and it was a forgettable night for Hawks' veteran Tim Coenraad who went 0 from 7.
