Wollongong kept their nearest play-off challengers at arm's length - and denied Gold Coast top spot - with an impressive 96-75 victory at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.
The Hawks moved to 12-10 and maintained their two-game lead over Adelaide (10-12) for the fourth and final play-off spot while the Blaze (13-9) surrendered a chance to succeed Perth (12-8) atop the ladder.
Wollongong's victory was based around a balanced attack, with six players scoring in double-figures, including bench players Luke Martin and rookie of the year hopeful Tim Coenraad.
Wollongong and Gold Coast - who defeated the 36ers 24 hours earlier - share the league's best home record at 10-1.
Saturday night’s victory was also Wollongong's first over the Blaze in 2009-10 - the Gold Coast outfit won 84-78 in round 2 and 88-84 in round 13.
Wollongong led 33-18 at quarter-time, mainly thanks to a sizzling 5-6 (.833) clip from beyond the three-point arc and 11-18 (.611) overall.
Campbell and Saville sparked Wollongong to a 15-5 lead with 6.17 left in the first quarter, which became 20-7 with 4:54 to go on a three-pointer by rookie of the year hopeful Coenraad.
The Hawks got hot from downtown, with Coenraad and Luke Martin hitting back-to-back threes for 28-14 with 2:22 on the clock.
Wollongong went on a 8-0 run to open the second quarter and lead 41-18 - to make matters worse for the Blaze, coach Joey Wright's was assessed a technical foul with 8.51 remaining.
The Blaze however responded with a 6-0 run of their own sparked by slick pooint guard Ayinde Ubaka but the Hawks pulled away to 51-32 on a pair of free throws by Tim Behrendorff.
Wollongong extended their advantage to 57-37 with 57 seconds on the clock after Luke Martin and Behrendorff hit consecutive threes before going to the main break with a 59-40 edge.
Coenraad and Luke Martin shared the game-high with 11 points, aided by Campbell (10) and Saville (seven). Larry Davidson and Dave Gruber shared the game-high for rebounds with five apiece.
Ubaka (10 points, three assists) and ex-Hawk Anthony Petrie (10 points, four rebounds) were the best for the shell-shocked Blaze outfit.
The Hawks outshot their guests from the field (19-37, .514 to 15-37, .405), downtown (8-12, .666 to 5-16 .313) and the charity stripe (13-15, .867 to 6-9, .666) in a red-hot first half.
Gold Coast's offensive woes continued in the third period, where they scored just 14 points on 6-21 (.286) from the field to the Hawks 17 for a 76-54, three-quarter time deficit.
The Hawks also paced the side from the tourist strip on the boards (35-31) while their bench had outscored the Blaze's 34-21.
Wollongong's squadron of bombers - Saville, Campbell and Rhys Martin - rediscovered their touch from downtown to extend their side's lead to 88-62 with 6:29 to go in the game.
Coach Gordie Mcleod emptied his bench in the final quarter, giving cult 169cm cult hero Zac Delany and Gareth Dawson game-time as Wollongong cruised to victory.
Saville, Rhys Martin and Campbell shared Wollongong's game-high with 13 apiece, while the Hawks skipper also added a team-high five assists.
Davidson (12, eight rebounds), Luke Martin and Coenraad (11 each) also reached double figures for the Hawks.
Ubaka (16, six assists), Petrie (14, eight rebounds) and Craig Bradshaw (11) were the only Gold Coast players to reach double figures.
Wollongong face another rival from the Sunshine State on Wednesday when third-placed Townsville (12-8) come to town.
Wollongong 'ahm' Hawks 96 (Campbell, Rhys Martin, Saville 13)
Gold Coast Blaze 75 (Ubaka 16, Petrie 14, Bradshw 11)
at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong. Crowd: 3,402
