The Wollongong Hawks have defied all the odds to score a crucial 94-91 NBL victory over Melbourne at the Sandpit.

The Hawks were at long odds to beat the second place Tigers but guaranteed their spot in the top four for the playoffs.

With less that 24 hours to get back home and fit in some preparation, Wollongong suffered the blow of losing star forward Glen Saville to injury.

As if needing anything else to go against them, import Adam Ballinger also carried an injury into the game and played just six minutes.

Needing someone to produce some heroics, bench forward John Phillip stepped into the role, and shot the Tigers out of the game.

Phillip established a new career high, with an unexpected 23 point display, including five killer threes from eight attempts.

He was an inspiration for his more experienced teammates in the second quarter where he scored 15 of his points, including the last three of the half with just seconds left.

Wollongong was in trouble early after its big man problem became exposed when Andrew Rice and Troy Pilon picked up two fouls each midway through the first quarter.

The Tigers were aided by a lopsided foul count of 9-3 in their favour, but it didn't help them to the lead at the first quarter break as the Hawks led 30-29.

Phillips second quarter explosion gave Wollongong some control, and the Hawks closed the quarter on a 9-0 run for a 62-52 halftime lead.

Melbourne started to make its move in the third quarter, outscoring Wollongong 23-17 to trail 79-75, and a thrilling final quarter was assured.

The final term provided hardly anything form a scoring prospective, but everything else as the tension climbed with each passing minute.

Melbourne looked ready to surge home when a Darryl Corletto three put them in front for the first time since the opening shot from the second quarter.

The Hawks showed how desperate they were for victory and dug into their defensive bag of tricks, holding the Tigers to just four points in the final five minutes.

It was left to a pair of free throws from Cortez Groves with 4.5 seconds left to seal the win, with Darryl McDonald's last second three point attempt off the mark.

Groves played another vital role for the Hawks, finishing equal top scorer with 23 points, while adding 12 assists and four steals, while Chris Anstey led the Tigers with 23 of his own.

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