The Dragons trailed by five heading into the fourth, but forged a powerful 28-18 performance in the last 12 minutes to storm home.

Kavossy Franklin poured in ten of his game-high 29 points in the fourth and Frank Drmic added eight in the last term, including a clutch three to put South up six in the last minute.

Rosell Ellis battled all night for 25 points and 13 rebounds and Joe Ingles added 10 points.

Glen Saville carried the home team, knocking down a collection of vital shots to preserve leads in the first three quarters, but he lacked support in the final minutes.

Saville finished with a team-high 26 points and nine boards and Cortez Groves added 22 for the Hawks, who flew under the guidance of new head coach Eric Cooks and assistant coach Bruce Bolden.

''I thought the guys played hard, played well and that's what I want from them, I'm happy with that,'' Cooks said.

''I thought we had every opportunity to win that game. It was disappointing that they were able to score so many points in the fourth quarter.''

With the win the Dragons clinched the 2-1 season split over Hawks, winning both games in Wollongong in similar comeback situations.

''It was actually exactly the same as a month ago when we lost to Perth in the same sort of circumstances and then came back and beat Wollongong in the same sort of circumstances,'' Heal said.

"We were actually down and we fought it out on the road against a good team and to come up with a win is pretty satisfying for us.''

The Hawks grabbed an immediate five-point buffer in the opening moments of the game when Groves drained a transition triple and Saville followed with a driving lay-up.

A Franklin three gave the Dragons their first lead at 15-14, however this was shortlived as the Hawks pulled away, leading by as much as 10 with the help of six threes to be up 33-26 at quarter-time.

Wollongong held a 7-point advantage (43-36) midway through the second before an Adam Quick three sparked a fight back from the Dragons.

South clamped down on the Wollongong offence, while Franklin posted seven late points to help pull the Dragons within one point, a Saville three had the Hawks up four, before Franklin closed the half with a runner as his team trailed 52-54.

After Ellis tied the scores at 54-54 to start the third term, the Dragons locked the scores on two more occasions but were unable to grab the lead.

Daniel Joyce's three gave Wollongong breathing space at 70-62, but this was its biggest lead as South once again clawed back into the game.

South reduced the margin to two late in the period and again Saville countered with a punishing triple. He followed with another basket to create a seven-point buffer before Ellis closed the quarter with a tough hook-shot as the Hawks led 82-77.

Threes by Drmic and Franklin pulled South within two midway through the fourth, Franklin tied the scores at 87-87, and Quick put the Dragons in front 89-87.

Saville gave Wollongong the lead at 90-89 with his fourth three of the game, but this was the side's last as Franklin converted a runner for a three-point-play and South held on for the win.

Both teams will now play again on Wednesday with the Hawks (8-11) taking on the Brisbane Bullets on the road, while the Dragons (11-13) travel to Singapore to face the Slingers.

South Dragons 105 (Franklin 29, Ellis 25, Drmic 18)
Wollongong Hawks 100 (Saville 26, Groves 22, Ballinger 12)
@ WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, 31/12/2006. Crowd: 3620.