The side suffered a 31-point loss at the hands of the Illawarra Hawks at The Snakepit in Wollongong on the weekend.

The Hawks, a revered force in Australian basketball, were stunned early by the Dolphins who took a 17-7 lead into the first quarter break.

But, they quickly regained their composure, their pressure defence forcing the Dolphins into numerous handling and dribbling errors, which handed the hosts a comfortable 40-27 advantage at the long break.

Despite the Hawks’ apparent superiority on the scoreboard, the Dolphins picked up the pieces in the final term to record a creditable fight back to share the honours, however the damage had already been done.

Dolphins coach Phil Lee will expect his side to be more disciplined tomorrow night at home when they get a second chance against the Wagga Heat.

The Heat’s come-from-behind victory over the Central Coast Power on the weekend will bring them to Port Macquarie in a confident mood.

“Wagga’s a strong basketball area, so they’ll be tough,” Lee admitted.

“But, in saying that, they’ve been a bit up and down in their pool too.”

Lee will be looking to his team’s superior defensive record (the Dolphins concede a respectable 65 points per game to the Heat’s 75 per game), an improvement in their shooting statistics, especially from three-point land and on the foul line, and the concentration to stick to the game plan.

“When the Dolphins attend to these matters, they usually win,” he explained.

“However, we’re running one guard down in this match – Renno French, who averages 20 points a game.

“With the home court advantage, and our solid starting five, I’m sure we’ll go alright.”

A victory will put the Dolphins into the State League semi-finals where the Griffith Demons await and a chance to repeat last season’s historic heroics.

“We lost a few players at the start of the year, which disrupted our preparations, so I’m happy with the way we’ve gone in 2009,” Lee said.

Tip off at Port Macquarie’s Indoor Sports Stadium is 6pm tomorrow.

“It would be nice to have a good, vocal crowd to get behind the team in its last home game of the season,” Lee added.

The Dolphins are expected to be at near full strength for this must-win fixture.