The Gators found themselves down by seven points early on in the piece, before some clinical shooting and stingy defence saw them run out to a 97-to-79 win.
Without two of their starters, Matt Bartlett and Matt Andronicos, the Gators were made to grind out their 13th win of the Big V division one season.
Nick Dodd had a superb shooting night, along with Dylan Wilkie, with the pair combining for 44 points.
Shepparton’s stellar 27-to-16 final quarter capped off a memorable away win in front of a large travelling Gators fan base.
Troy Lundberg, who is filling in for Josh Waight while he attends the national under-16 championships this week, praised the Gators’ ability to tough out the win.
“I thought the boys did a really good job in tough circumstances,” he said.
“We only had eight players with both Matts out so we had to change up rotations a bit. They (Collingwood) got on a bit of a roll to start the game and we did a great job of weathering that storm.
“Their import Manny (Hendrix) had a fairly impressive start, we knew he could shoot but he came out firing.
“Doddy was able to hit a three at the end of the first which gave us a real lift. It was a really strong team win and one that we needed after the loss last week.”
Dodd’s 22 points were a highlight of the Gators’ win.
The versatile talent shot at an impressive 87.5 per cent from the floor, while he went at 100 per cent from beyond the arc from four attempts.
Dodd had strong support from Wilkie, who threw up 22 points and collected seven rebounds.
Wilkie was back to his classy best and nailed four three-pointers from six attempts.
Garrett Jefferson posted 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds while Sam Beks chalked up 15 points and seven boards.
“Nick was great to watch and it was great to see him get some reward,” Lundberg said.
“Him and Dylan both shoot the extra shots after training and they both did a good job on the defensive end too.
“It was a strong overall performance from the two of them.”
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