Armstrong stars as JackJumpers prevail in OT

It was a game of wild momentum swings but Will Magnay, Dakota Mathias and Josh Bannan were particularly effective against their former team with Taran Armstrong shining as the Tasmania JackJumpers beat the Brisbane Bullets 109-99 in overtime.

Both teams had already played this round, with the Bullets suffering their first loss of NBL27 against the Sydney Kings, while the JackJumpers prevailed in quite the grind against Melbourne United at home.

That set up their match up at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Saturday night and the Bullets had an impressive first half performance trying to stay undefeated on their home floor.

Brisbane got out to a 14-point advantage in the second term and were still up seven at the half before the JackJumpers took control with a 13-0 run in the third quarter as part of 34 points to 18.

The Tasmania lead was then as much as 11 but Brisbane fired back to go on an 11-0 run to grab the lead late before former Bullet Bannan scored on a Armstrong pass to force overtime.

Even though Arnas Velička made his only two shots of the game in overtime for Brisbane, Tasmania had the answers to secure the 10-point win and improve to 3-1.

Armstrong finished with 29 points and four assists with 4/7 three-point shooting in the win with Magnay adding 22 points, nine boards, six assists and four blocks in a fascinating battle with Tyrell Harrison.

Bannan also added 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists against his old side, while Mathias produced 19 points, four boards and three steals.

Harrison finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three assists for Brisbane, with Nate Hinton adding 21 points on 3/6 three-point shooting and Max Mackinnon 21 points on 5/8 from the outside.

Jaylin Williams contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Jacob Holt 10 points and four boards, and Arnas Velička six points and 13 assists on 2/14 shooting including 0/11 in regulation.

Arnas Velička already had three assists and with Max Mackinnon and Nate Hinton scoring six points each, Brisbane were leading 23-17 by quarter-time on the back of forcing Tasmania into seven turnovers.

Brisbane then scored the first five points of the second quarter with a dunk to Jacob Holt and three ball to Hinton 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 thanks to 13 points and Tyrell Harrison along with eight points from fellow big man Holt.

Former Bullet Dakota Mathias kept the JackJumpers in touch with 10 points, while Taran Armstrong had nine points and two assists, and captain Will Magnay added 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 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 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 Bullets are next back in action on Thursday night away to the Cairns Taipans while the JackJumpers are on the road to the Illawarra Hawks on Friday.

BRISBANE BULLETS 99 – TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 109

Brisbane Bullets
Tyrell Harrison – 24 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists
Nate Hinton – 21 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
Max Mackinnon – 21 points, 4 rebounds, 5/8 3PT
Jaylin Williams – 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Arnas Velička – 6 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds

Tasmania JackJumpers
Taran Armstrong – 29 points, 4 assists, 4/7 3PT
Josh Bannan – 22 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists
Will Magnay – 22 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks
Dakota Mathias – 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
David Johnson – 9 points