Last weekend marked the Tigers first home double-header of the season as both Shoalhaven teams looked to protect their homecourt against the top teams of their respective conference.

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The Canberra Gunners Academy came into Nowra confident, fresh off narrowly beating Central Coast and sporting a record of 6-1, tied with the Hills Hornets for first place.

The Tigers on the other-hand, had hit a bit of a rough patch after their initial 5-0 start to the season, dropping their previous two matches.

Getting a win over Canberra would truly send a message to their rest of the league and cement themselves as a top three side.

Shoalhaven was able to do just that, pulling out a strong 72-64 win on their home court in front of their passionate fans.

It was a full team effort that left Canberra uncomfortable on both sides of the ball.

Captain Bruce Ozolins and newly acquired Kyle Leslie, lead their home squad with huge performances.

Ozolins rebounded from his 14 point outing against Hornsby, dropping a huge game-high 27 points.

Not to be outdone, Leslie continued his strong play since joining the Tigers. The smooth player dropped 23 of his own points, nailing three of the teams five three pointers.

For Canberra, William Rice lead the way with 19 points and Henry Wallace chipped in a further 18.

The team utilised a more focused defensive approach which really helped fuel the team to success on the other side of the ball, as they forced a number of steals through their traps.

Coach Ben Bagoly, must be feeling good after seeing such a strong response from his team.

It bodes for well for the team heading into next weekend against a 4-4 Central Coast Waves team who are coming off a 33 point win over the Camden Valley Wildfire.

The Tigers will look to continue to protect their home court on Saturday May 28, as they tip off at 2:00pm against the Wildfire.