THE Illawarra Hawks' three straight losses earlier this month feel like a distant memory now, as they chalked up another strong Waratah League win on Saturday.
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At the Brickpit, Scott Balsar's Hawks, fresh off a two-point win against Maitland, down the Hornsby Ku Ring Gai Spiders 97-84 in round seven of the Basketball NSW youth men's division one competition.
Both teams found their shooting strokes early, as they traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of action - as the hosts led 24-22 at quarter-time.
The visitors came to life in the second term, outscoring their opponents by 13, to hold a 51-40 advantage at the main break.
The Spiders wouldn't go away though and reduced the margin to seven midway through the term before the red and whites stabilised, to go into the fourth quarter with a seven-point advantage.
In the final period, both sides went on runs to try and secure the important victory.
The hosts got the margin back to six with seven minutes to play before big baskets by Shoalhaven product Kyle Leslie and Mason Scott extended the Hawks' lead to as many as 15.
In the end, Balsar's troops held on to win by 13, securing their fifth win of the season and vaulting them up into fourth spot on the ladder.
Leslie scored a game-high 26 points, while Brandon Freire (22) and Scott (11) also reached double-figures.
Next up for Illawarra is Newcastle, with the round eight match tipping off at 3.30pm Saturday at the Snakepit.