Rd 3 Report | JackJumpers overpower Bullets in OT

There were plenty of massive momentum swings all evening but it was a high-quality, entertaining overtime affair with Taran Armstrong, Will Magnay, Josh Bannan and Dakota Mathias leading the Tasmania JackJumpers to the 109-99 win over the Brisbane Bullets.

Tasmania were fresh off a hard fought win over Melbourne United at MyState Bank Arena back on Thursday night ahead of taking on the Bullets at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

The Bullets were trying to hit back from their first loss of the season to the Sydney Kings on Wednesday and started strongly building a 14-point lead in the second quarter and still being up seven at the half.

But the JackJumpers went on a 13-0 run as part of a 34-point third quarter and then had their own 11-point advantage before Brisbane again scored 11 straight points and ended up back in front late.

Armstrong found Bannan late in regulation to force overtime and then the JackJumpers took control late in the extra period to secure the 10-point win and improve to a 3-1 record.

There were plenty of big-time performances for the JackJumpers and none more so than Taran Armstrong with another 29 points and four assists with 4/7 three-point shooting.

Josh Bannan also thrived against his former team with 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as did Dakota Mathias with 19 points, four boards and three steals.

Captain Will Magnay was fresh off his 100th JackJumpers game on Thursday night and came up huge again with 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocks in a fascinating match up with former teammate Tyrell Harrison.

David Johnson also had nine points in just 19 minutes with Nick Marshall contributing six points and three assists.

Brisbane were leading 23-17 by quarter-time on the back of forcing Tasmania into seven turnovers before the Bullets scored the first five points of the second quarter to force Scott Roth into a lightning quick timeout.

The lead for the Bullets then got out to as much as 14 points in the second term and the home team were still leading 47-40 going into half-time.

Former Bullet Dakota Mathias was keeping the JackJumpers in touch with 10 points while Taran Armstrong had nine points and two assists with captain Will Magnay adding eight points and seven rebounds.

The Bullets were clinging to a 59-56 lead midway through the third quarter but the JackJumpers took over the contest from there scoring the next 13 points including seven of those courtesy of former Brisbane power forward Josh Bannan.

From there, Tasmania went into three quarter-time leading 74-65 on the back of 34 points in the term on 12/19 from the field and 5/8 from downtown to take over the contest.

Tasmania did look in control for much of the fourth quarter until a late 7-0 run from the Bullets had them within two after Tyrell Harrison scored inside after three offensive rebounds on the possession.

The JackJumpers continued to be ice cold and a dunk from Jaylin Williams before another inside finish to Harrison had the Bullets in front having scored 11 straight points.

Tasmania responded with a behind the back pass from Armstrong to find Bannan under the bucket to tie scores up with 22 seconds left leading to a Will Weaver timeout.

Ultimately Max Mackinnon's attempted game winner didn’t fall and scores stayed locked 91-91 at the end of regulation before Velička opened overtime with his first bucket of the game after going 0/11 in the opening 40 minutes.

In the end, it was Armstrong who closed the deal with a strong three-point play with 44 seconds to go before the eventual 10-point win.

The JackJumpers remain on the road to play the Illawarra Hawks now on Friday night before a return home the following Friday to host the Adelaide 36ers.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2026/27 | ROUND 3

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 99 defeated Brisbane Bullets 88

Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Saturday October 3

Taran Armstrong | 29 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
Will Magnay | 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks
Josh Bannan | 22 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists
Dakota Mathias | 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
David Johnson | 9 points, 4/5 FT
Nick Marshall | 6 points, 3 assists
Biwali Bayles | 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Ben Gold | 2 rebounds, 1 assist