Tasmania JackJumpers 66 (MiKyle McIntosh 21 points, Jack McVeigh 8 points 7 rebounds )
defeated by
New Zealand Breakers 62 (Chasson Randle 18 points, Ousemane Dieng 17 points 9 rebounds)
Boxscore
Match Summary
The Tasmania JackJumpers have debuted in Launceston with a win, defeating the New Zealand Breakers 66-62 in front of a record crowd at the Silverdome.
As part of the NBL’s indigenous round, both teams wore indigenous jerseys that reflect stories of their indigenous people.
The crowd of 3532 witnessed to an arm-wrestle between two teams that more resembled two heavyweight boxers throwing haymakers but failed to connect for 40 minutes. The result was a scrappy match, that came down to who wanted it more in the final minutes. Those closeness of the game was backed up by the states, 20 lead changes and no team leading by more than 6 points.
The scrappy nature of the game was also reflected in the outside shooting, with both teams shot a combined 8 of 60 from outside the arc.
MiKyle McIntosh led the JackJumpers off the bench with 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He was the only JackJumper to reach double figures, but was a constant threat on the inside, scoring all his points inside the paint and the foul line.
“It was a nice game to have, the team kept trusting and beleiving in me playing down there but I think the gameplan by the coach was to get into the paint, get points in the paint.”Mikyle McIntish said after the win.
Missing Hugo Besson, Yanni Wetzell, Will McDowell-White and Tom Abercrombie, the undermanned Breakers appeared to be outmatched on paper by a JackJumpers team that won by 24 points in their last encounter in January.
However the Breakers came into the game ready to fight for their potential 5th win of the season. They looked to Rob Loe down in the post, who as able to come up with some points early, before Ousemane Dieng took over with 9 points in the opening quarter. This was matched by Clint Steindl, as he has done several times this season provided instant offence off the bench.
Skipper with the spin cycle jumper! He’s leading the charge early in Launceston #FEARTHESTING pic.twitter.com/Q2fsrMEsaI
— Tasmania JackJumpers 🐜 (@JackJumpers) March 5, 2022
As the three point shots failed to drop, both teams looked inside to get the scoreboard ticking over. The game soon became a battle of the bigs in the post, with McIntosh and Lowe battling out at both ends of the floor. Lowe having the slight advantage with 8 points for the quarter and took his team into the half time break up 39-38 lead.
The second half continued much the way of the first, with both teams unable to find any rhythm on offence. The McVeigh and Adams were unable to have their usual offensive impact, with Scott Roth finding more success with his bench. Unconventional lineups including Weeks, Bairstow, Stendl and McIntosh were keeping Tasmania in the game.
The final quarter belonged to the JackJumpers, with their defense kept the Breakers to 9 points and 3 or 16 from he field. But key baskets to McIntosh, McVeigh and Weeks helped the JackJumpers out to a 4 point. win.
Where there’s a Weeks there a way! It’s a tight tussle at the Silverdome #FEARTHESTING Watch now on @espn via @kayosports pic.twitter.com/nHNp1WU7qu
— Tasmania JackJumpers 🐜 (@JackJumpers) March 5, 2022
Although it wasn’t a game for the basketball purists, Scott Roth was happy to leave Launceston with a win.
“The game was ugly, I think the humidity and the balls, the whole thing was just a grind for both teams, a struggling effort both ways.”
“We’re grateful and humble to come away with the win,” he said.
Embed from Getty ImagesKey Takeaways from the game
Outside shooting
It is hard to imagine this was the team that knocked down 22 threes against Illawarra only a few weeks ago. Thier 3/27 last night from outside was well down on their season average of 9.7 3’s made on 30.8 attempts
Launceston debut.
“The best part of the night for me is to be in Launceston, to build out fan base, to be up here, the place was packed, “Scott Roth said.
“Just looking the stands and seeing all the JackJumpers stuff is remarkable. I was here last year – there was no JackJumpers gear, and now I look up there every little kid’s got it on.
Mikyle Mcintosh form
After a slow start, MiKyle McIntosh has been a focal point of the JackJumpers offence in recent games. Over the last 6 matches he has average 15 points a game. He explained post game what has changed.
“It’s just about trusting the process, and coming in every day ready to work. Once I started doing better in practice, and being more consistent in practice everything kind of turned around.”
Ladder
With last nights win it takes the JackJumpers to 8-9 record for the season and remain in 6th spot. With Brisbane losing last night the JackJumpers are now two game clear of the Bullets (6-11) and two games behind the Sydney Kings in 5th (11-7). Full ladder is available on the NBL website.
