The South Dragons managed to overcome a desperate late challenge from the West Sydney Razorbacks to notch a thrilling 105-104 win at the Olympic Sports Centre in Sydney on Friday night.

The Dragons saw a handsome 17-point, half-time advantage evaporate during the third quarter as the Razorbacks rallied to lead by two at the last break, but just managed to finish on top after a wild last term that saw seven lead changes.

The home side actually had the better shooting percentage from the field (54 per cent to 49) on the night, but were left to rue a sub-par performance from the free-throw line, making just 39 per cent (seven of 18) from the stripe.

Jacob Holmes was the Dragons' top-scorer with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting - including four three-pointers - with Kavossy Franklin and Matt Burston finishing with 16 apiece, while James Harvey hit a game-high 22 points for the Pigs on 8-of-11 shooting with five triples of his own.

Frank Drmic and Franklin started brightly with seven points each in the first quarter to help their side to a slender one-point lead (28-27) at the first break and the Dragons turned the defensive screws to hold West Sydney to just 19 points in the second to establish a 63-46 scoreline at the half.

However, the Razorbacks managed a complete role reversal after the break, limiting the Dragons to 18 points while going on a 37-point scoring spree to hold a two-point buffer (83-81) at the last change.

With momentum swinging back and forth during the final term, the visitors claimed the lead with just 3:29 remaining and barely survived a frantic finish that saw West Sydney's Liam Rush hit a two with just two seconds remaining to fall agonisingly short.

It's the second time in three days the Razorbacks have come out on the wrong side of a duel with the Dragons, having gone down 115-104 at Vodafone Arena in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The win sees the Dragons improve to 5-8 with just under a week to prepare for their home clash with the Wildcats next Thursday, while the Razorbacks remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder with a 2-10 record and face a trip across the Tasman to take on the Breakers next Wednesday night.

West Sydney Razorbacks 104 (Harvey 22, Rush 16, Ya Ya Dia 13)
South Dragons 105 (Holmes 18, Franklin 16, Burston 16)
@ Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, Sydney, 24/11/06.