Turning point? JackJumpers rediscover home edge

Tasmania has long been one of the toughest road trips in the NBL, a place where visiting teams rarely left with a win.

This season has told a different story. The JackJumpers had claimed just two home victories from 10 attempts, before finally turning the tide against South East Melbourne on Monday night.

“It is something we have obviously been stressing about in this building,” Scott Roth said post-game.

“We just haven’t done a very good job and we haven’t gone long and hard enough to get some of these games across the line.”

The JackJumpers got off to a dream start in the contest, building a 19-point first half lead to put themselves in the box seat for a much-needed home win.

“Hopefully that will start to turn over the next few games that we have back here at home,” Roth added.

“This place is electric, it’s the best place in the league to play.”

While JackJumpers star Bryce Hamilton was once again brilliant down the stretch, it was bench spark Majok Deng who stepped up big.

Deng had a team-high 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds on the night, proving influential in what could be a season-defining win at home.

The JackJumpers’ struggles at MyState Bank Arena and regional venues this season have been magnified due to their track record over the past few seasons of suffocating opponents defensively, aided by a sold-out and vocal crowd.

“I always say they’re the sixth man and they always give us life and it’s finally good to give them one,” Deng said.

“It feels good we have the best fans in the league.

“If this was any other place and we were losing all these games at home, they would turn on you and they haven’t done that for us.”