The undermanned Bandits, who were missing Clay McMath, Darcy Harding and Sawyer Dearborn, stunned the Spectres 103-100.

Ben Kearins was the star, dropping 26 points, six rebounds and six assists in an entertaining duel with former Bandits guard Shane McDonald, who finished with 29 points and 10 assists.

The win keeps the Bandits’ season alive after they went down to Geelong 94-73 on Saturday night.

“This was a really important win, it was backs to the wall stuff today,” coach Brad Chalmers said after the game.

“I'm really happy with the level of intensity we brought to the contest.

“We aren't doing what we did today on a regular enough basis, but hopefully the boys can use the win as a platform for improvement.

“Today we came in with our mindset totally dialled in, we're really happy to split the road double.

“We're keeping ourselves in it, we just got to keep pushing.”

In the absence of McMath (personal reasons) and Harding, who was knocked out on Saturday night, Kearins showed what he's capable of in what was far and away his best game for the club.

“Ben was awesome today, he backed himself in and really took Shane McDonald on,” Chalmers said.

“For him to have a really big game will be good for his confidence.

“He’s been listening, he’s taken on board advice and coaching, and he played a smart, poised game while still being very aggressive.

“We knew he had it in him, made made much better decisions with the ball today.” 

Kearins wasn’t the only Bandit to keep the scorers busy, with Donte Nicholas and Greg Mays bobbing up to salute in Jack Duck’s 150^th SEABL match.

With the game in the balance in the final quarter, a 10-point burst from Mays helped turn a six-point deficit into a four-point lead with 90 seconds to play.

The import duo of Mays and Nicholas finished with 24 and 28 points respectively, Nicholas lodging another double-double with 12 rebounds.

Jessy Wilson also impressed across the double-header, rising to the challenge the Bandits’ injury troubles and subsequent extra minutes presented.

With another tough road double to come next week, this time against Sandringham and Kilsyth, Chalmers said he was hoping the win would motivate the side.

“You want to use moments like this win, you can’t let them go to waste,” he said.

“This probably our best win for the season, we played the right way for the full 40 minutes.

“It doesn’t necessarily solve some of the problems we’ve had, but you have to utilise good outcomes like what we had today. 

“The chemistry, intent, execution and energy was all there.”