A 31 point performance by Milton Doyle has powered the Tasmania JackJumpers to a much needed 103-87 victory over the Cairns Taipans at MyState Bank Arena in Hobart.
Coming into the game Tasmania had not only lost 4 of their last 5 games, but also three in a row at home. Speaking after the win coach Scott Roth said he pleased with the effort from his squad against a tough Taipans outfit.
“I thought for the most part we were pretty consistent with our intent and we were trying to get it done and it was good to get a win across the line against a team that’s obviously chasing [finals] and quite competitive and got a lot of talent over there,” he said
Tasmania started the game off strong, with Anthony Drmic (11 points) hitting back-to-back threes to kick start the JackJumpersoffence. A dislocated finger to Taipans leading scorer Patrick Miller saw him exit the game for treatment, leaving Sam Meninga (9 points) and Tahjere McCall (20 points) to take over the scoring load. But late threes to Sean Macdonald (12 points) and Lauchie Barker saw the JackJumpers take a commanding 29-20 lead after the first quarter.
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter missing a number of early shots, Milton Doyle began to find his range in the second quarter to finish the half with 12 points and take Tasmania to a 51-41 half time lead.
Having been ahead at half time in their previous two games, only to be overrun by their opponents, there was some concearns on how the JackJumpers would play in the second half. But unlike recent games they attacked the rim and blew the game open with a 20-5 run, leading by as much as 24 points, with contributions all over the court, and allowed Scott Roth te opportunity to exclusively pla his bench as they held a 79-59 lead after three quarters.
The Taipans showed some fight in the final quater, led by Tasmanian Taran Armstrong who had a season high 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. He helped them reduce the lead down to as many as 10 points, but some key baskets by Doyle steadied the JackJumpers offence enough for them to close out the game 17 point winners.
Marcus Lee once again had a strong game for the JackJumpers (16 points) and was a constant threat as a rim protector. His ability to stay out of foul trouble also allowed Will Magnay (9 points) to play a limited role off the bench, assisting him with his comeback from an injury scare against the Phoenix on Christmas day. Their cominbation at the five spot is pleasing Roth as well.
“I thought Marcus Lee has put two [good games] together now which is really good sign for us and then obviously having Magnay bouncing around back out there is quite helpful,” Roth said.
Embed from Getty ImagesDoyle back to his MVP calibre best
After the match Doyle reflected on his performance, and the difficulty of coming back after time away from the team to deal with personal reasons back home in the united states
“Just to see the ball go in and get a win in front of this crowd, it a great feeling,” he said.
Embed from Getty Images“It felt great, just getting my feet underneath me like I said. I couldn’t do the things that I wanted to, my mind was telling me to make certain plays but my body just couldn’t do it in the last few weeks so just being able to do that and having the trust from all these guys is what helped me”
Lauchie Barker impact
Having being elevated as an injury replacement player earlier in the week, local player lauchie Barker had the crowd ina frenzy in the first quarter witha key defensive stop and a three pointer to beat the shot clock, his first points as a JackJumper.
Milton Doyle reflected on Barker and that getting some opportunities outside of the training court.
“He’s the one that guards me and I guard him and he keeps me on point, making sure I don’t rest in practice and things like that so having a guy like that who you know can get buckets in and just be great on and off the court is always good to have,” he said.
