JackJumpers beat Breakers with record Silverdome crowd

While neither team shot the ball how they would have liked, the Tasmania JackJumpers got a huge effort inside from MiKyle McIntosh to help inspire a 66-62 win against the New Zealand Breakers on Saturday night.

A record Launceston NBL crowd of 3532 turned out to The Silverdome for the contest and while both teams struggled shooting the ball, it was a night battle the entire way.

The Breakers led by three at three quarter-time before the JackJumpers came out to hit the opening six points of the fourth quarter. Then three-pointers to Jarrad Weeks and Jack McVeigh, and a three-point play to McIntosh helped to secure the crucial four-point win.

It was a rough shooting night for both teams and the JackJumpers missed their opening 18 three-point attempts before Jock Perry ended the drought. They finished off going 3/27 from beyond the arc but the Breakers also struggled with 5/32.

However, the work inside the arc of McIntosh to finish with 23 points and four rebounds on 8/13 shooting and 7/8 from the foul line was huge as he continues his best patch of form in #NBL22.

He was the only Tasmania player scoring in double-figures with Clint Steindl adding nine points, Jarrad Weeks nine, and Jack McVeigh eight.

To win in a game where star guards Magette (two points, seven assists) and Josh Adams (six points) only shot a combined 3/18 is significant for the JackJumpers.

JackJumpers coach Scott Roth was proud of his team's fight to get the win and with the reception they got in Launceston.

"The game was ugly with the humidity, the new balls and everything so the whole thing was just a grind for both teams. It was a struggling effort both ways and it wasn’t pretty, but we're grateful and humble to be able to come away with the win," Roth said.

"The best part of the night for me is to be in Launceston and to build our fan base. To be up here, the place was packed and just looking in the stands seeing all the JackJumpers stuff, it's remarkable. 

"To look out and see every kid with JackJumpers gear it has me really excited about the future of this franchise. This part of the state is hugely important to this franchise and us building a foundation with the fans, and we appreciate them all coming out."

Chasson Randle (18 points, four rebounds) and Ousmane Dieng (17 points, nine rebounds, three assists) both had their best games in Breakers colours. Rob Loe had his most significant game of the season too in Yanni Wetzell's absence with 12 points and seven rebounds.

An errant Rob Loe elbow split open Josh Adams' lip to send him to the bench but that ended up working in the JackJumpers' favour early in the game with captain Clint Steindl coming on to hit their first six points.

It was Loe and Ousmane Dieng combining for New Zealand's first 11 points giving them the lead until both MiKyle McIntosh and Jarred Bairstow came on to convert three-point plays.

It was Dieng who was the story of the first term for the Breakers with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists but it was the JackJumpers who led 23-19 by quarter-time having scored the last five points.

Kyrin Galloway opened up the second quarter in style with a three ball for New Zealand before Adams made up for lost time with six quick points for the JackJumpers.

The lead continued to exchange hands the rest of the half and it was a buzzer-beater from Dieng that gave the Breakers the narrow 39-38 advantage at the half.

It was Jack McVeigh and Chasson Randle trading buckets to open the second half but when Finn Delany finished strong for an and-one, the Breakers were up four.

Eventually it was Jock Perry who broke Tasmania's drought from beyond the arc following 18 straight misses, but still by three quarter-time it was New Zealand up 53-50.

Tasmania hit back to open the fourth quarter, though, with the opening six points including the last four to McIntosh. That put them up three before Galloway brought the Breakers back level with his second three-point make of the night.

Jarrad Weeks and McVeigh added the JackJumpers' second and third threes of the game to keep them in front, and then another strong McIntosh three-point play still had them leading by three with just under three minutes to go.

Neither team scored for the almost the entire final 2:41 and both teams jacked up some three balls that didn't come close, but the JackJumpers did enough to win by four.

The Breakers now face the Brisbane Bullets on Hobart on Monday. The JackJumpers are next in action on Friday up in Far North Queensland against the Cairns Taipans.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 14

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 66 (McIntosh 23, Weeks 9, Steindl 9)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 62 (Randle 18, Dieng 17, Loe 12) 

BOX SCORE