Rd 6 Report | JackJumpers stay top with Ignite Cup win

The Tasmania JackJumpers wrapped a hectic home week at home, beating the Brisbane Bullets 106-85 and claiming full Ignite Cup by 7-Eleven points and retaining top spot in the NBL in the process.

The JackJumpers were back at MyState Bank Arena for the third time in under a week having lost to the Adelaide 36ers back on Friday night and then hitting back to beat the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday.

That returned Tasmania to top spot entering Round 6 of the NBL season and they started strongly against a Bullets team with a 12-2 beginning to the game and never looked back from there.

The JackJumpers ended up winning by 21 points against an opponent missing Tyrell Harrison, Jacob Holt, Sam McDaniel and Arnas Velička, but they were still missing Majok Deng, Ben Ayre and Bryce Hamilton themselves.

The win improves Tasmania to a 6-2 record on the season to remain in top spot and having won four of five matches at MyState Bank Arena so far in NBL27.

It was an impressive offensive performance all-round from the JackJumpers with them shooting 59 per cent from the field along with 11/22 from the outside and 19/27 at the free-throw line while having 28 assists as a team.

Josh Bannan enjoyed his night against his former team finishing with 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists with 8/13 shooting from the field and 6/8 from the foul line.

Fellow big, captain Will Magnay, provided another 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals with Ben Gold also having eight points and four boards.

Taran Armstrong delivered 19 points and six assists with David Johnson finishing with 17 points and three assists with 3/5 three-point shooting, and Dakota Mathias 16 points and six assists with 3/6 shooting from the outside.

Nick Marshall added 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.

The Bullets were right up against it with Tyrell Harrison and Jacob Holt ruled out against the strong Tasmania front court, and then all their worst fears were realised early with a 12-2 start from the home team.

That included a three ball from Nick Marshall and then consecutive layups from Taran Armstrong but Brisbane did well to work back into the contest from there even though the JackJumpers were still leading 22-15 by quarter-time.

Brisbane might have missed all five three-point attempts but had battled hard with Max Mackinnon up to seven points and a nice little cameo from Raul Neto with two points, two rebounds and an assist.

It was a high-scoring second quarter from both teams with the Bullets doing well to stay in the contest but the JackJumpers had pushed out their lead to 56-44 by half-time on 34 points with 12/17 shooting from the field and 5/9 from downtown.

Armstrong was up to 13 points with Josh Bannan adding 10 points, five rebounds and two assists against his old team, and Dakota Mathias nine points and four assists.

The Bullets added 29 points for the quarter on 11/21 shooting while hitting their first three triples of the game with Mackinnon up to 11 points, Jaylin Williams 10 and Neto contributing four with three assists in his first six NBL minutes.

Tasmania made a fast start to the second half with a 7-2 run including another triple from Marshall before the Bullets got a steadying triple from Mackinnon only for him to be subbed out straight after.

Then again after Brisbane were picking up some momentum to get back within 11 including a three-pointer from Neto, Tasmania took control starting with a three-pointer to Mathias.

On the back of that, the JackJumpers went into three quarter-time leading 84-64 thanks to 28 points in the frame on 11/18 shooting with Armstrong up to 17 points and four assists, and Bannan 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Tasmania then completed the job with 22 points to 21 in the fourth quarter to claim all seven of the Ignite Cup points along with retaining top spot.

After three games at home in six days, the JackJumpers now have until next Friday before playing the Sydney Kings in Launceston and then having a quick turnaround on the road to the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2026/27 | ROUND 6

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 106 defeated Brisbane Bullets 85

MyState Bank Arena, Wednesday October 21

Josh Bannan | 22 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists
Taran Armstrong | 19 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds
David Johnson | 17 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Dakota Mathias | 16 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Will Magnay | 12 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals
Nick Marshall | 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Ben Gold | 8 points, 4 rebounds
Kody Stattmann | 2 rebounds