Trailing 85-83, Jakob Dorricott drained a corner three with 16 seconds on the clock then Ryan Beisty and Matur Maluach made defensive stops under the Newcastle basket to secure a win that kept the Falcons (5-2) in third place behind Canberra and Inner West (both 6-2).

Beisty's defensive rebound forced a jump ball with three seconds left, and from the ensuing possession Maluach met Lucas Walker at the rim and blocked the former NBL player's shot.

"It was one of the highest quality games I've been part of as a coach, and I couldn't be prouder of our blokes," Newcastle coach Peter Astley said. "We're still down a few troops but they showed character, desire and a team bond that continues to develop and grow. They all work for each other, and they were rewarded for their efforts."

Beisty was everywhere for the Falcons, posting a team-high 29 points - including five three-pointers - to go with 15 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

Maluach added 19 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and Dorricott chipped in with 11 off the bench including the game-winner.

Captain Jaidyn Goodwin had 14 points, six assists and three boards while trying to stifle Hawks dynamo Kiwi Gardner, who posted a game-high 38 points but could not drag his team over the line.

"Jaidyn did an awesome job on Gardner and he still got 38," Astley said of the East Conference's leading scorer. "The guy is elite but we didn't want him taking the last shot, and he didn't. We forced him to pass the ball to someone else and Ryan and Matur came up with a couple of huge defensive plays for us."

Without Tom Dawson (ankle) and Jai Smith (illness) to back him up in the paint, Myles Cherry was held to a season-low six points but still contributed eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Newcastle led 22-15 at quarter-time but trailed 40-33 at the half, and momentum continued to swing back and forth in the final two quarters.

The Hawks led 74-69 with seven minutes remaining, the Falcons responded with a 9-0 run during the next two minutes to lead 78-74, then Illawarra scored seven straight to edge in front 81-78, setting up the exciting final two minutes.

In the women's game earlier in the night, Illawarra handed Newcastle only their second loss of the season, prevailing 87-78.

Posting their fifth straight win, Illawarra (6-2) climbed to third and pushed Newcastle (5-2) back to fifth on a congested table.

The Hawks established their authority early on, building a 24-18 lead at quarter-time.

Newcastle edged ahead 39-38 late in the second quarter, but Illawarra kicked again to take a 47-42 advantage into half-time.

The Falcons cut the deficit to 76-72 with four minutes to go but that was as close as they came as the Hawks, led by five players scoring in double figures, finished on a 9-6 run.

Chyra Evans scored a game-high 29 points for Newcastle, adding 15 rebounds, two steals and two assists, and was well supported by Emily Foy (18 points, four rebounds) and Kate Kingham (17 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals).

The Falcons will return home next Saturday to play Albury-Wodonga Bandits at 5pm (women) and 7:15pm (men). One of the features of the women's game will be the appearance of former Australian Opals captain Lauren Jackson playing for her home-town Bandits.

MORE IN SPORT:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: