Brendan Joyce's return to Wollongong ended with a smile after his Gold Coast Blaze scored a crushing 115-82 ANBL win over the Hawks at WIN Entertainment Centre.
James Harvey top-scored for the Blaze with 28 points in a match that was always going to be about the returning Gold Coast coach.
After coaching Wollongong to the club's first and only championship during a 12-year reign, Joyce was unceremoniously sacked two days before Christmas last year for "unsatisfactory behaviour and offensive language" while standing courtside during matches.
However, he was all smiles courtside tonight as his Blaze had the last laugh over the Hawks with a dominant victory.
The Gold Coast improved to 9-7 to cement their position inside the top eight while Wollongong suffered their sixth straight loss to be 3-11 and cemented 12th on the table.
The Blaze raced out to an early lead with Harvey netting 25 first-half points as Gold Coast shot a respectable 57 per cent from the field to lead 60-42 at halftime.
The Hawks, who hadn't played in almost two weeks, were rusty and outclassed by a team that looks set to mount a finals challenge in their first season in the league.
The lead was out to 31 points midway through the term after Harvey and import Jason Crowe nailed back-to-back three-pointers.
The final quarter was a formality, with a malfunctioning shot-clock delaying the inevitable.
Kavossy Franklin finished with 19 points to topscore for the Hawks while forward Larry Davidson had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
