JackJumpers dig deep to beat Phoenix

The finish might have been dramatic but the Tasmania JackJumpers got the reward for turning the tables on the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the second half coming from 16 points down to open their NBL27 campaign winning 96-91.

The JackJumpers were opening their season at MyState Bank Arena and were missing Josh Bannan up front along with Ben Ayre, Anthony Drmic and Bryce Hamilton from the back court against a Phoenix team fresh off an impressive first up win in Perth.

South East Melbourne then took control in the third quarter, with 28 points and 13 from Angus Glover, to go into half-time leading 52-38 after a 16-point lead.

But the JackJumpers came out firing with 36 points on 14/19 shooting in the third quarter, then kept it up for the eventual five-point win, outscoring the Phoenix 58-39 in the second half.

It wasn’t without some late controversy with South East Melbourne back within two following a triple from Skylar Mays. D'Shawn Schwartz then stole the ball from Nick Marshall before the JackJumper was called for a disruptive foul.

However, Mays stepped up to shoot the foul shot instead of Schwartz, which saw Tasmania regain possession and ultimately win the game despite the 18 offensive rebounds and 10 extra shots from the Phoenix.

It was a typically gritty win from the JackJumpers with David Johnson finishing with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists on 10/15 shooting.

Taran Armstrong added 19 points and three assists, Will Magnay 14 points, six assists and four rebounds, Dakota Mathias 14 points, six boards and three assists, and Marshall 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Glover scored 13 of his 21 points in a two-and-a-half-minute patch in the second quarter and went 5/11 from the outside for the game, while Mays finished with 18 points and six rebounds for South East Melbourne.

Schwartz added 12 points and five rebounds, Dash Daniels 11 points and four assists, and Jordan Hunter nine points and five boards.

Coming off Saturday night's win in Perth, South East Melbourne kept the momentum going even still without Nathan Sobey with 24 points to 15 in the opening quarter.

D'Shawn Schwartz already had seven points while Dash Daniels continued his hot start with another five points and three assists.

Angus Glover then took over the contest spectacularly in the second quarter, and in a two-and-a-half-minute period, he knocked down three triples and 13 points to blow the game open.

He had 16 points at half-time as a result with the Phoenix leading 52-38 on 9/17 three-point shooting as a team to 4/10 from the JackJumpers.

Tasmania turned the game on its head in the third quarter, starting with a 23-9 run before finishing with 36 points on 14/19 shooting.

They even grabbed the lead briefly before scores were locked at 74-74 heading into the fourth, and the home team rode that momentum, but Phoenix got right back in it with a huge three from Skylar Mays.

Schwartz then got the steal on Nick Marshall and it was called a disruptive foul, but when Mays stepped up to shoot the first free-throw, that was cancelled out. Marshall scored on the resultant possession and the JackJumpers went on to win by five.

The JackJumpers now have the short turnaround to head straight to Cairns to take on the Taipans on Wednesday night while the Phoenix are back in Melbourne for a Throwdown with Melbourne United on Thursday.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 96 – SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 91

Tasmania JackJumpers
David Johnson – 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists
Taran Armstrong – 19 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Will Magnay – 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
Dakota Mathias – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Nick Marshall – 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists

SE Melbourne Phoenix
Angus Glover – 21 points, 2 assists, 5/11 3PT
Skylar Mays – 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
D'Shawn Schwartz – 12 points, 5 rebounds
Dash Daniels – 11 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Jordan Hunter – 9 points, 5 rebounds