Rd 4 Report | JackJumpers smash club record

The Tasmania JackJumpers smashed the 120-point barrier for the first time in the NBL while David Johnson had 32 points in under 18 minutes, captain Will Magnay was a dominant presence and they delivered the 122-112 win over the Illawarra Hawks.

The JackJumpers arrived at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong after winning twice last week in impressive fashion, despite the continued absence of Majok Deng, Anthony Drmic, Bryce Hamilton and Ben Ayre.

They took on a Hawks team that had beaten the Adelaide 36ers by 22 points in their lone home game so far this season, but the JackJumpers still delivered perhaps their best 30 minutes of offensive basketball in their history.

Tasmania led by as much as 27 points while scoring 91 to three quarter-time on the way to the eventual 10-point win where they put up 122 points for the night in the highest score in club history.

That saw the JackJumpers shoot 65 per cent as a team from the field to go with 16/28 from the outside and 26/32 from the free-throw line with just the 39 points in the last quarter from the Hawks making the final score look closer than the game was.

David Johnson fouled out early in the fourth quarter and might have denied himself a 40-point game, but he became the first player in NBL history to score 32 points in less than 20 minutes – he only played 17:39.

The JackJumpers were +42 with Johnson out on the floor and he shot 5/6 from beyond the arc and 9/9 at the free-throw line.

Josh Bannan finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Will Magnay was an imposing presence all evening providing 14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and two blocks with 4/4 shooting from the field and 6/8 at the stripe.

Taran Armstrong ended up with 17 points and five assists, Ben Gold 14 points on 3/4 three-point shooting, Nick Marshall eight points, five assists and three rebounds, and Kody Stattmann six points.

The JackJumpers also did it after losing Dakota Mathias before half-time. He was taken to hospital having taken a nasty hit to the face and needed to have his eye socket/cheekbone checked.

The JackJumpers were playing their first game since beating the Brisbane Bullets in overtime on Saturday and started on fire in Wollongong with a 32-point first quarter.

That included 12 points from Josh Bannan while as a team they were shooting 12/19 from the field and 5/9 from downtown to be leading the Hawks 32-22 by quarter-time.

Tasmania then came out to score the first 11 points of the second frame to go up 43-22, and they finished with 35 points for the term to go into half-time well in control, leading 67-47.

That was on the back of shooting 72 per cent from the floor and 9/15 from the outside with Bannan up to 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.

David Johnson also had 16 points and then Ben Gold was up to 11 on 4/5 shooting overall.

The lead for the JackJumpers grew to as much as 27 points in the third quarter as well and Johnson added another nine points to already be up to 25 for the night on 4/5 shooting from the outside.

Tasmania were still on top 91-73 by three quarter-time before things really opened up with the pressure off in the fourth quarter.

Illawarra did put up 39 points and the JackJumpers 31 with Tasmania winning by 10 but that didn’t tell the full story of the commanding performance.

The JackJumpers now don't play again until hosting the Adelaide 36ers next Friday night and before that, the Jewels will play their first ever WNBL game at home to the Geelong Venom on Thursday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2026/27 | ROUND 4

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 122 defeated Illawarra Hawks 112

WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, Friday October 9

David Johnson | 32 points, 5/6 3PT, +42
Josh Bannan | 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Taran Armstrong | 17 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
Will Magnay | 14 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks
Ben Gold | 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3/4 3PT
Nick Marshall | 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
Kody Stattmann | 6 points, 2/3 FG
Dakota Mathias | 3 points, 1/1 3PT
Biwali Bayles | 3 points, 1 rebound, 1/1 3PT