It was a mighty effort comeback from a 18 point deficit in the third quarter, but the JackJumpers ultimately fell short 84-79 against the South East Melbourne Phoenix at John Cain Arena.
The Phoenix took charge from the opening tip, and enjoyed a double figure lead for the majority of the first half. They were led by the hot-hand of Kyle Adnam, who had a career high 30-points. His teammate Mitch Creek may have missed all of the preseason, but it didn’t show, as made an impressive return with 23 points and 6 rebounds.
Despite winning the final three quarters, Tasmania will be lamenting a slow start that saw them down by 28-16 at the opening break.
Jack McVeigh led the team with 20 points, but lacked opportunities to score as he was well held by Creek and Alan Williams, allowing him 10 field goal attempts for the game. After quiet first halves Rashard Kelly (18 points, 6 rebounds) and Milton Doyle (13 points, 6 assists) both finished the game strong,
1st half
Missing import duo Trey Kell and Gary Browne, as well as Ryan Broekhoff through injury, Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell needed their remaining players to step up. Adnam responded immediately, opening the game with the three pointer, before hitting a further two from outside to put Tasmania on the back foot.
Despite running solid plays and getting good looks, Tasmania simply couldn’t convert their hard work into points. It started to flow on to the defensive end, as the team gave up 28 first quarter points to be down by 12 points at the first break.
They found a spark in an unlikely place in the second quarter, as Sean Macdonald asserted himself offensively to lead the team with 11 first half points. The development player’s efforts follow a breakout tournament at the Blitz, where he averaged 12 points a game.
They had slowed the Phoenix on the offensive end, but struggled to contain Williams. The former NBA player big man was dominating on the offensive glass and getting to the foul line, giving the Phoenix led 43-33 at the half.
2nd half
After only shooting 29% from the field in the first half, JackJumpers Coach Scott Roth needed his team to start finishing around the basket. But it was Adnam again was causing problems, opening the term with the first 8 points for Phoenix. But this was matched with key baskets by McVeigh, Bairstow and Doyle to keep Tasmania in the game, and a pair of strong finishes by Rashard Kelly put Tasmania down by six at the last break.
Kelly kept his form going, scoring Tasmania’s opening seven points of the final term. With Magette and Doyle also were knocking down shots, it was suddnely a four point match with three minutes to play. The teams traded baskets in the final minutes, with the Phoenix opening a seven point lead with a minute remaining after Reubin Te Rangi calmly sank two free throw. But a pair of late threes by Kelly and McVeigh cut the lead to two points with 16 seconds to play.
After getting Mitch Creek to the line, he kept the door open for Tasmania after missing one of his free throws and the lead was just three. But an errant pass down the floor by Tasmania all but ended the chance of a huge come from behind victory.
Key stats
The big difference in the game came down to foul shots, with the Phoenix getting to the line 29 times compared to Tasmania’s six (well down on last seasons 16.9 FTA average). Tasmania struggled to stop the inside game and offensive rebounding of Creek and Williams, who had 17 attempts between them.
While the JackJumpers will no doubt look at ways to keep the offensive players off the glass, they also will need to attack the rim more often and get themselves to the line. Similar to what we saw regularly from Josh Adams last season
Overall
It was a matter shots not dropping in the opening half, and players unselfishly giving up their shots and looking to pass the ball early in the game. There were some great phases in the second half where Doyle and Kelly asserted themselves on the game, and lifted the whole team. McVeigh is going to be heavily guarded all season, so there will be lots of opportunities for those around him.
A lot of good things to build on from the first game, with the good news being there is only a couple of days to rectify them.
Up next
A short break for Tasmania before their home opener agaisnt the Cairns Taipans on Monday 3 October.
