A second half disintegration by the Cannons handed visiting American side Nacel All-Stars a last gasp two point win in an international basketball thriller at Moss Vale on Sunday night.

The Canberra-based NBL side made a sizzling start in front of a packed home crowd but looked more like popguns in the dying minutes as the towering All-Stars put them to the sword.

Made up of elite college players from the United States, the All-Stars boast two seven foot monsters and used their rangy big men to outmuscle a Cannons side missing a host of key players.

"This was a good hit out for us and it's a great opportunity for some of our younger players to test their skills," Cannons' coach Cal Bruton said.

"We've still got some fine tuning to do but I was pretty impressed with how we played against a top side like the Allstars."

Touching down just 30 hours before tip off, the All-Stars were forced to battle jet lag and a fired up Cannons in the opening exchange, slumping to a 31-21 deficit midway through the second quarter.

But when the Cannons began backfiring in the second half, the All-Stars rebounding big men took control, edging ahead 100-98 with less than a minute left in the match.

Two points from the stripe by Canberra's Daniel Kickett drew scores level just seconds from time as the 300-strong crowd bayed for Yankee blood.

All-Star forward Josh Almanson drained a clutch hook shot to give his side the edge soon after but a sloppy foul handed Canberra a golden opportunity to square it up again.

The Cannons leading shooter Brendan Mann choked from the line though, missing both baskets and giving the visitors a Houdini-like victory.

"It was a tough match because we'd never played together and have just got off the plane," All-Stars coach Mike Deane said.

"But it's great to play in small communities like this where the people love their basketball."

Top scorers for the Cannons were Daniel Kickett (28) and Cameron Rigby (27) while Josh Almanson (17) topped the All-Stars.