Oscar Forman delivered a game-high 29 points to lead the Hawks to an 80-64 win over NBL leaders New Zealand Breakers in Wollongong on Saturday night.
The Hawks snapped the defending champions five-game winning run.
Forman poured in 21 points in the first half and finished with a perfect 7-of-7 clip from long-range.
Both teams were in blistering form from long-distance, combining for a total of 19-of-44, but the Breakers were broken down by the Hawks' stifling defence in a 16-8 final quarter.
Gary Wilkinson led New Zealand with 16 points, while Daryl Corletto, Cedric Jackson and Thomas Abercrombie each added 12.
The Hawks claimed the opening period 20-14 with Forman providing 10 points, he and Corletto duelling from long-range with four consecutive three-pointers between them.
Forman kept a hot hand in the second, knocking down a pair of vital triples, the second cutting a 6-0 Breakers run and giving the Hawks a seven-point buffer (35-28).
Moments later Forman drained his fifth three-pointer and consecutive buckets by Catron gave the Hawks a 42-32 half-time lead.
CJ Bruton snatched the last points of the half with a runner, ending a rare 20-minute phase that saw the Breakers on the wrong side of a 10-2 turnover count.
Jackson looked to reverse the turnover trend in the third, stealing the ball on the first possession for a breakaway slam as the Breakers scored the first five.
Demos entered the game after Ayinde Ubaka was called for his third foul and sank back-to-back threes to spark a 9-0 Hawks run.
The Hawks led by as many as 12 and absorbed 15 combined points from Abercrombie and Wilkinson to hold a 64-56 advantage heading into the fourth.
Wollongong rode a 5-0 start to the final period, eating almost five minutes off the clock before their backcourt combo of Ubaka and Rhys Martin steered them to victory.
NZN