JackJumpers control possession for Cairns win

The Tasmania JackJumpers shook off a slow start and ended up dominating the possession game which was key along with finishing with a 15-4 run to beat the Cairns Taipans 81-68.

The JackJumpers arrived at the Cairns Convention Centre playing a third game in the space of the week and it was the Taipans who made the fast start with the game's first 13 points.

Tasmania eventually steadied and were just two points down by half-time but even then it was still a two-point lead only for the JackJumpers with four minutes remaining.

That's when they took charge and scored 15 of the last 19 points in the contest with 11 of those coming from the hand of David Johnson for the 13-point victory which sees the JackJumpers back inside the top six with an 8-10 record.

Tasmania again took good care of the ball with just six turnovers while pulling down 21 offensive rebounds to win the overall battle on the glass 51-31 which was key to them taking an extra 18 shots and six foul shots to win despite shooting 38 per cent from the field.

Josh Bannan caught fire shortly before half-time with six quick points and then continued to do a power of work inside for the JackJumpers to pull down eight offensive rebounds and 13 overall on his way to 20 points and three assists with 8/10 shooting at the foul line.

Bryce Hamilton also delivered 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists with David Johnson having 13 points with two assists with 11 of those scores coming in the game's final four minutes.

Majok Deng also contributed nine points and five rebounds, captain Will Magnay nine points, 13 boards and three blocks, Tyger Campbell eight points and two rebounds, and Ben Ayre five points and three assists on his former home court.

Jack McVeigh finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists for Cairns with Andrew Andrews adding 18 points, eight assists and five boards, and the returning Sam Waardenburg eight points, six rebounds and two assists.

It was the worst possible start for the JackJumpers with the Taipans playing their first game in a week and shooting out of the blocks with the game's first 13 points sparked by the returning Sam Waardenburg in his first appearance of NBL26.

It took almost a full five minutes for Tasmania to score when Bryce Hamilton knocked down a three ball with 5:10 on the clock after the team had missed their opening eight shot attempts, but that was the start of seven straight points.

Majok Deng and Tyger Campbell also hit three balls before quarter-time but at the first break it was still the Taipans leading 21-13.

Cairns were back out to an 11-point lead heading towards half-time when Andrew Andrews completed a four-point play, but Tasmania responded with the next 10 points started off by Nick Stoddart.

Josh Bannan then got rolling with six quick points heading into half-time with the JackJumpers able to cut the Taipans lead back to 39-37 despite the shooting of 38 per cent from the floor and 4/15 from deep.

Tasmania then made a strong start to the second half including scoring nine consecutive points along with a three ball from Ben Ayre to see them assume the lead.

The JackJumpers closed the third quarter with the last eight points as well including a couple of buckets to Campbell which saw them leading 60-54 by three quarter-time.

Cairns hit back with the first five points of the last period and with four minutes to go but that's when Tasmania took charge for good starting with a huge three from David Johnson who only had two points to that stage.

He then completed a three-point play and then scored again as part of a game defining 12-0 run before completing the deal with another long bomb to give him 11 points in three minutes and Tasmania to finish with 15 of the last 19 points to win by 13.

After playing in Auckland last Saturday, in Gippsland on Wednesday and now in Cairns, the JackJumpers get a chance to catch their breath over the next week before hosting the Perth Wildcats at MyState Bank Arena next Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 81 (Bannan 20, Johnson 13, Hamilton 13)

CAIRNS TAIPANS 68 (McVeigh 24, Andrews 18, Waardenburg 8)

BOX SCORE