McVeigh leads Tasmania to win over Cairns at the Blitz

The JackJumpers finished off the NBL Blitz on a high, defeating the short-handed Cairns Taipans 100-82 at the Darwin Sports Facility.

It appeared a one-sided game was on the cards after Tasmania dominated the rebounds and pushed out to a 20 point lead at halftime. But a big third quarter by Cairns, led by DJ Hogg and Ben Ayre, brought the margin to single figures and set up the game for an enthralling final quarter.

But the experienced JackJumpers weathered the storm and held on for a solid win, with strong performances from Jack McVeigh and Rashard Kelly. They finish the tournament with a 2-1 record.

Tasmania JackJumpers 100 (McVeigh 25 points, MacDonald 18 points, Kelly 16 points)

Defeated

Cairns Taipans 82 (Ayre 26 points, Hogg 24 points, Scott 10 points)

First half

Both teams entered the match short-handed, with Tasmania missing Matt Kenyon and Walter Brown with illness, which elevated Sean McDonald to a starter. While the Taipans were resting Keaunu Pinder, Majok Deng and Jonah Antonio through injury. They also were missing Tajere Mccall, who for reasons yet to be confirmed, was stand-in coach for the night as Adam Forde watched from afar

Scoring was hard to come by for everyone other than Jack McVeigh in the opening minutes. He scored seven of the teams first nine points as they took an early 9-4 lead. The scoring picked up in the closing minutes of the quarter, Rashard Kelly got to work early with his drives, picking up two three-point-plays that opened a 25-16 lead at the first break.

The lead was extended in the second quarter on the back of some more hot shooting from McVeigh. His off-season shoulder injury was a world away as finished with 20 points for the opening half on 8/9 shooting including four three pointers. Kelly also was doing great work around the basket as he had 10 points and 5 rebounds at the half.

Cairns were struggling to match Tasmania on the rebounds, losing that category 28-11 in the first half, including giving up 11 offensive rebounds. Ayre and Hogg were the main threats on offense as they struggled to stay in the game 36-56 at the break.

Second half

Tahjere Maccall must of rallied his team with a stirring speech at half time, as the Taipans came out with a new attitude in the second half. They started off with a 14-3 run, with 12 coming from Hogg along, who was knocking down shots from all over the court. Hogg is looking like quite the pickup for a young Cairns team, and he will likely be a focal point of the Cairns offense in NBL 23.

The game suddenly had a lot more feeling in it than a pre-season game. Both teams were feeling the heat, as they had to be separated a number of times by the refs, who handed four tech fouls wer, as neither team was looking to take a step back.

Assisting Hogg was Ben Ayre, and together gave the Taipans arguably had their best offensive quarter of the tournament, cutting the lead to seven points after a 32-19 quarter and setting up for a strong finish.

But Tasmania weathered the storm and were able to keep Cairns at bay in the final quarter. Hogg and Ayre’s offence couldn’t keep the shots falling, and the JackJumpers were clinical at the other end wiht their set plays. With Isaac White and McDonald both finishing off the game strongly with big shots to ice the game. Tasmania running out winners 100-82.

It was a strong game for the JackJumpers, despite playing a teams missing several of its regular starters. However, missing five players of their own, it was a great team performance, particularly on the defensive end.

Key Stats

It’s hard to go past the rebounding, which was the real story behind the win. They out rebounded Cairns 50-28, including 13 offensive rebounds. It also wasn’t just down to one player with five players finishing with seven rebounds or more. Highlighting the “team first” attitude of the JJ’s.

Player focus

Hard to put this down to one. But will start with Sean McDonald. His stock has really risen throughout the Blitz, capping it off with an 18 point, 7 rebound performance against Cairns. He played the most minutes on court with 34, and is always a threat with the ball in his hands on the offensive end. No doubt we’ll see a lot more of him this season.

Rashard Kelly had a much better game tonight with 17 points and 7 boards. He has an expansive game, but focused on the basics tonight of being a strong inside player.

Finally Tristan Forsyth, the back up big man had some great output from his 8 minutes on court. He finished with 8 points and 7 boards, and could of had more if he saw the ball a little more inside. He also will be good for short stints against smaller lineups until Will Magnay returns.

Next up

With the Blitz wrapped up with a 2-1 record. The JackJumpers now wait for the season to tip off, when they visit the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Friday 30 September