The Adelaide 36ers guard, in Seahawks’ colours for the first time since 2011, shrugged off early foul trouble to play a telling role in the 89-87 triumph in front of a bumper home crowd at the Arc.

He sunk a long-range three and followed up with two free throws to put the Seahawks four points up with a minute and a half to play.

A series of clutch triples kept the Vikings in the contest during a see-sawing final term but the Seahawks had the answers, giving Matt Alexander the perfect start to his coaching career.

Sobey finished with a team-high 24 points from just 22 minutes’ court time.

He copped two fouls within the first three minutes of the game and spent most of the third term on the bench after receiving his fourth.

Fellow recruits Alex Gynes and Xavier Johnson-Blount were also influential, both draining 20 points.

Gynes in particular was crucial, highlighting the skills which helped him make it to NBL level in a dominant four-quarter performance.

He reeled in eight rebounds and had three assists to complement his scoring.

Little separated the two sides.

Warrnambool overcame a sloppy start to hold a two-point buffer at quarter-time before Blackburn wrested the momentum to take a five-point lead into the main break.

A Vikings’ buzzer beater gave the visitors a one-point advantage at three-quarter-time, setting up a thrilling final term.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking but Nathan came to the forefront and made some big plays,” Alexander said of the fourth quarter.

“They were fouling us so he hit foul shots at the end and Josh Dean hit some big foul shots at the end.

“It was a really gutsy win by us. I was really happy with it.”

Alexander praised Sobey, Gynes and Johnson-Blount for their performances but also emphasised the contribution the Seahawks received off the bench.

Josh Dean, James Mitchell and Sam Gray all made crucial plays at critical times.

“Sam Gray was rebounding and adding some intensity into our game,” he said.

“He got a couple of steals and picked it up.”

Sobey will miss the Seahawks’ clash against Shepparton due to NBL commitments in China.