JackJumpers overcome Kings on the back of a buzzer beater, United win thriller over 36ers

A dominant third quarter from Jaylin Galloway saw him produce 11 points and open up a commanding 15-point lead heading into the fourth for the home side.

But the JackJumpers kept chipping away, firstly through a pair of big threes to Nick Marshall and Josh Bannan to cut it back to seven midway through the term.

Then it was three with less than a minute to play, with the Kings not scoring for the final three and a half minutes.

Ben Ayre cut it back to one, before Kouat Noi missed two three throws and Xavier Cooks turned the ball over with seven seconds left, as the JackJumpers ran the floor and Marshall finished off with a lay-up to seal a famous 90-89 win on the buzzer.

Tasmania coach Scott Roth praised the never say die attitude of his team, as they were able to play the game on their terms in crunch time.

“We found a way to win by grinding it down in the second half,” Roth said.

“Ultimately we got them back to more of a half-court game where we like to play and we were lucky in the last three or four minutes to make some really good plays and finally get consecutive stops.

“We say grit and grind with the JackJumpers. That probably epitomises it as much as anything we’ve done.”

Kings coach Brian Goorjian was left stunned after the defeat, finding it hard to piece together after his team was strong for three and a half quarters.

“It’s really hard to talk right now,” Goorjian said.

“It’s hard to take it all in. We worked really hard and this game was big for us.

“We addressed a lot of things and I thought the guys did a great job.

“A real hard one to swallow, but I like the way we played.

“The whole team and myself, it cuts real deep.”

DEFENCE GOES MISSING

Bul Kuol earned his first start of the season as Sydney looked for a defensive edge to avoid a repeat of their recent trip to Hobart.

The JackJumpers quite literally got the jump on the Kings on that occasion, never letting the visitors lead at any stage.

It was more of the same this time around, as Tasmania hit its first four shots to open up a seven-point lead early on.

Sydney hung around to only trail by four after the first break, but their defence was non-existent as the visitors shot at an incredible 80 percent through one, scoring 24 points in the paint in the process.

Roth said it was their design to try and get inside early, putting the Kings in foul trouble and making defensive decisions.

“We wanted to put some pressure on them. I thought we were settling a bit too much early on,” he said.

“I thought he (Will Magnay) did a wonderful job all night with composure in the huddles and reading our group.”

HAMILTON HITS RIGHT NOTE

After a strong start to his NBL career, Bryce Hamilton cooled off in round five, going 9-29 from the field in their double header.

He was Tasmania’s main strike weapon in the first half, scoring a team high 13 points (6-8 FG) during that period.

However foul trouble saw him restricted to less than 12 minutes of court time, taking three fouls into the second half as the Kings dropped 30 in the second term to take a five-point advantage at the main change.

BENCH IMPACT

Sydney’s bench could muster just 14 points in their defeat to the Phoenix on Thursday night, all from Kouat Noi.

They responded in style, combining for 30 of the Kings’ 79 points through three quarters to help them open up a handy 15-point buffer.

They finished the game with 35 points as a collective.

Goorjian said he wanted a punch off the bench with Galloway, and he delivered with 20 points, including 18 in the second half.

“He really delivered tonight,” he said.

“He made the plays. The steal and the dunk, the baseline and the dunk. He hit his shots.

“I’m proud of him and proud of the way he handled it.”

Undefeated United match franchise record in 36ers thriller

A Tyson Walker three-pointer at the death has seen Melbourne United preserve its unbeaten streak and improve to a franchise-equalling best 9-0 start to the season.

United trailed by as much as six points late in the fourth quarter but found a way in the game of the season so far to overcome a gallant Adelaide 36ers 81-80 in a thriller at John Cain Arena on Sunday.

36ers guard Dejan Vasiljevic hit a miracle three from the car park to give the visitors the ascendancy late.

Vasiljevic then got hit with a controversial over and back after some up-in-your-face defending from Goulding and it resulted in a scrappy United play with Milton Doyle putting up a missed three-point attempt and centre Jesse Edwards tapping the ball out to Walker, who drained a three wedged in the corner.

With 2.5 seconds left, Vasiljevic went for a straight line miracle three-point shot and it rimmed out to keep United’s undefeated streak alive.

The 36ers bus turned up to the stadium later than scheduled but the team did not seem overly bothered as they made a promising start.

36ers forward Zylan Cheatham was active at both ends, doing all the dirty work defensively and cutting in and out on offence to keep United guessing.

Cheatham produced a dominant 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to arguably be the player on the court.

Isaac Humphries was 36ers a focal point at centre while Bryce Cotton, fresh off a 53-point game, struggled with his shot early, missing all of his five first period field goal attempts.

It was a subdued United crowd early as the team that has taken all before them this season began with a rare hesitancy with five first quarter turnovers.

United Jesse Edwards imposed himself on the contest, backing in to throw down a huge dunk on Humphries in the first period, and a mouth watering big man duel was evolving.

Edwards had a game-high 25 points with seven rebounds, while Humphries was just as impressive with 18 points, though was hampered with foul trouble.

Cotton finally broke his field goal drought on a drive two minutes into the second period and followed up with a triple 30 seconds later to warning bells ringing in the United camp.

The 33-year-old had 15 points at half time but only finished with 22, which was a win for United, who had Walker and teenage Next Star Dash Daniels in his face all game, considering he was coming off a 53-point game.

TENSION RISES

Tensions rose when 36ers coach Mike Wells intimated that Goulding might have flopped on a play.

Goulding took exception and the two got up in each other’s faces to continue the spirited conversation that piqued the interest of the officials.

Wells might have poked the bear because Goulding produced a four-point play shortly after and glanced in his direction as United went on a 9-0 run to lead 40-37 at half time.

MAINTAINING THE RAGE

Edwards came out breathing fire in the third, aggressively pursuing hoops in the paint and drawing a fourth foul on 36ers big Humphries, which was a concern as started the third with six quick points, but back up big Nick Rakocevic provided valuable minutes.

It was all to play for in the fourth with United leading by four.

Consecutive threes to Cotton and Cheatham had the 36ers up six with four minutes remaining.

A three-second violation on Edwards turned into a transition dunk for Humphries and the visitors could sense victory.

Both sides had their runs and moments where they felt like they would go on to win it, but United had their nose in front when it mattered.

Hawks bounce back to win on the road

The Illawarra Hawks have recovered from one of their worst games in more than a decade to beat the Perth Wildcats at RAC Arena in a thriller.

Import JaVale McGee dropped the second of this two free throws with just 0.6 seconds left on the clock, to give the Hawks a narrow 85-84 win.

There didn’t seem much in the Kristian Doolittle foul, but Wildcats coach John Rillie had no challenges left.

The reigning champions lost to the South East Melbourne Phoenix in round 5 lost 40-point loss, their equal heaviest loss in 13 seasons.

Saturday’s win was the first for the Hawks on the road this year on their fourth attempt.

Last season they had a 10-5 record away from home.

BIG BOY BATTLE

The battle between Perth’s big man Jo Lual-Acuil Jr and the Hawk’s JaVale McGee was always going to help decide this clash. McGee scored one of his four double-doubles against Perth back in round 3. On Saturday, he had just 11 points and five rebounds at the last break. But he had a massive final term, finishing with 24 points and 11 boards.

The three games before Saturday, Lual-Acuil Jr had averaged just over four rebounds a game. By three quarter-time, he had his third double-double for the season, with 12 points and 12 rebounds. It hurt Perth though when he fouled out of the game with 3.56 remaining in the clock. At that stage, the Cats were leading by five points.

The Hawks Tyler Harvey also had a massive final term, dropping 13 points for the quarter.

THREE POINT PROBLEMS

Perth has lived by the three-point shot for so long, it must be hard to break the habit. But the Wildcats need to find a way, for the time being anyway.

They went only 2-19 from long range against Cairns in round 4. It would be difficult to beat that, right? At half time on Saturday night, they were 1-17 from beyond the three-point-line. They put the long shot away for most of the third term, but were still 1-24 at the last break. Ben Henshall and Jaron Rillie were 0-7 between them. 32nd time almost a charm. With 1.3 seconds left on the clock, the Perth Wildcats had dropped just four of 31 three-point attempts. Elijah Pepper was 0-7. But with 1.1 seconds remaining, the Cats went to the well once more, and Pepper tied the scores with an accurate long bomb from the corner. Illawarra 10 of their 34 three-point attempts, at 29%. Harvey nailed five of his 13 shots from long distance.

Bullets misfire as worrying trend emerges in loss to Phoenix

The Brisbane Bullets will need to take a long, hard look in the mirror if they are to topple Cairns in Thursday’s Sunshine Stoush because a worrying trend continued to brew in Saturday’s loss to the Phoenix.

Brisbane lost badly, 109-86, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre as pressure mounts on the team to get its act together before it is too late. They are a world away from being contenders.

Former Bullet Nathan Sobey made timely buckets in his 29-point return to the town he had an ugly exit from 18 months ago.

Brisbane led for just 2:20 and for the third straight game found themselves down 20 points on more than one occasion.

But that’s not the only problem. For the third game in a row, they trailed by at least 10 in the first quarter. It is the third successive game they’ve got up at least 10 less shots than their opposition and the third straight they’ve left at least 10 points out there at the charity stripe.

The offence isn’t gelling, and it just so happened Casey Prather (18pts, 5 tov) had an off night.

It meant the spotlight shone bright on an inefficient offence that isn’t yielding many quality looks. It all reached boiling point midway through the fourth when a wide-open missed layup on one end was matched with poor defence that let in two threes in quick succession.

BREATHING FIRE

Phoenix led 46-39 at half time, when the match was still up for grabs. Quickly the visitors puffed their chests and showed their urgency during a 22-11 run out of the break.

Halfway through the third it was 70-50 and Brisbane’s glimmer of hope was barely flickering. Phoenix led by as many as 25, their suffocating defence forcing Brisbane into tough shots and their physical effort on the glass afforded them countless second-chance points. Phoenix had contributions all over the floor. John Brown (12pts) started fabulously, Jordan Hunter (12pts) fired in the second with two threes and blokes like Angus Glover and Akech Aliir added to the hurt with 10 points each. Composed guard Owen Foxwell, 22, was excellent as Phoenix’s full-court press put Brisbane’s ball-handlers to the sword.

ALL THAT, FOR WHAT?

Brisbane bumbled to the main break, down 46-39, after doing so well to hit the lead following an early 12-1 deficit just three minutes in.

The Bullets’ slow starts have been worrying this season and again they found themselves down big. But they rallied to be just 23-20 behind at quarter time. Brisbane then captured a 30-26 lead after a 29-14 run that lit the BEC up. Shot-blocking big Tyrell Harrison and timeless guard Lamar Patterson were superb in that stretch, but it was all in vain because poor ball security let the Phoenix back into the driver’s seat. The visitors made their 15-4 run to lead 41-34, with Hunter (two threes) key. Brisbane threw 10 turnovers to four, allowed 11 offensive rebounds and didn’t hit a single three from seven attempts in the first half. This was after last week hitting just five in a comeback win over the Breakers. SEM hit eight in the first half and got up 14 more shots (47 to 33). Over the last 80 minutes of play, Brisbane have drained just 10 threes.

Phoenix worst crowd fears realised in Kings slaying

One of the smallest non-Covid era reported crowds in South East Melbourne history watched the Phoenix blow Sydney away after an enthralling arm-wrestle.

NBL fans crying out for competitive games amid the horrible trend of early season blowouts would have enjoyed three quarters of tug of war where no team led by more than a couple of buckets.

Too bad there was almost no one there to see it.

Look, that’s slightly overblowing it, but, despite pre-season protests to the NBL from the club, a generous 3786 fans were reported through the gate to watch South East Melbourne’s 112-95 win, believed to be the smallest John Cain Arena home crowd since the franchise’s debut season (outside of the Covid-affected 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, where fans were either banned or limited due to government-enforced lockdowns during the pandemic).

The non-public holiday eve Thursday night is a poison chalice the Phoenix railed against. They’d only played the timeslot twice before, one a traditionally well-attended Throwdown against cross-town rival Melbourne United. The other, the last time they reported under 4000 fans at a JCA game — 3994 turned up on Thursday, December 8, 2022 to see a 111-72 win over Illawarra.

CODE Sports understands the Phoenix aired their concerns with the league more than once, but had no success in getting the game moved.

The NBL has been contacted for comment.

South East Melbourne chief executive Simon Derrick was diplomatic in his response to CODE Sports questions about the crowd, confirming the club tried to work with the league on a solution.

“We know the challenges associated with fixturing, we just want to make sure that we get every opportunity for the Phoenix to perform, to share culture on such a spectacular game (Indigenous Round) with as many Phoenix fans as we possibly can,” Derrick said.

“We’re practical that it’s a Thursday night, not a school holiday period and we know there’s a challenge in getting young families out on a Thursday night.

“We will do everything we can to continue to work with the league to make sure we look after the interests of the club and make sure we look after our fans.

“We’re unashamedly family friendly, we want to be open, we want to be available, we want everybody to be part of our game but we certainly have positioned our club as one that engages, that’s family friendly, that’s entertaining.

“Anything we can do to make sure we get a fixture that supports young people, who are the future of our club and the future of our competition, the better we’ll be off as an industry, not just as a club.”

Through three quarters, neither team led by more than 7 as the big guns punched and counterpunched in an entertaining battle.

But, despite the small crowd, the Phoenix were willed home in the fourth by a monster fourth quarter from superstar Nathan Sobey, who poured in 14 of his game-high 33 points to propel a 33-22 quarter and a 17-point win.

King Kendric Davis tried his best to match Sobey with 31 and big man Tim Soares played foil with 24, but the Phoenix had six players in double digits, under-pressure import continuing his uplifted production with 17, matched by young guard Owen Foxwell.

The Phoenix moved to 4-2 on the season and remain third, while the Kings slipped below .500 to 3-4 and sixth.

UNITED MAKES IT EIGHT STRAIGHT WITH CAIRNS THRASHING

- Mitch Turner

Melbourne United came away from the Far North with what can only be described as a straightforward victory over the Cairns Taipans to extend their undefeated streak to eight games to start the NBL season.

In contrast to their victory over the Snakes two weeks ago — in which they put up 25 unanswered points at one stage — the NBL powerhouse barely got out of a canter on Friday night.

Their biggest scoring run in this encounter was nine points.

The scoring load was evenly shared, with the usual suspects — led by Chris Goulding — all finding their opportunities to put points on the board.

The legendary Melburnian was able to have an early night, finishing with 14 points, while Finn Delany, Tyson Walker, Jesse Edwards and Milton Doyle all hit double digits in scoring on the night.

The Snakes simply lacked the offensive firepower to match the championship favourites, with the absences of Jack McVeigh and Sam Waardenburg becoming more and more glaring by the round.

With McVeigh’s wrist still in a brace, when Adam Forde can expect to see his star man back on court remains unclear.

UNITED TOP CLASS

Dean Vickerman’s men may really just be a class above this season.

While there’s plenty of basketball to be played in the 2025/26 season, Friday night’s performance seemed to have a sense of mundane inevitability about it.

Melbourne just seemed unbothered by it all, going about their business with a kind of ruthless efficiency that has been a hallmark of their performances so far this season.

With five players in double digits, it’s clear their playmakers and coaching staff didn’t feel the need to feed the hot hand or their stars.

THE SCHOFIELD ROLLERCOASTER

The opening quarter was more or less a microcosm of the season that’s been for Taipans import Admiral Schofield.

He opened up the game by showcasing that NBA pedigree which saw him play four seasons at the top level, scoring with a nifty move off the dribble for a layup, following that with a long range jumper to have his team’s first five points.

He followed that up with a pair of costly live ball turnovers, committing a clear path foul on the latter which cost his team two points and possession.

He had some key rebounds on both ends of the court, but finished off the quarter in brutal fashion as he fouled Chris Goulding on a successful three-point attempt.

The 28-year-old forward has been the subject of plenty of chatter online and in the media, especially after his post-game altercation with Wildcats Lat Mayen and Jo Lual-Acuil on Wednesday night.

Schofield’s impact on the remainder of the contest — especially in the second half — was dampened by foul trouble, and it’s unlikely this rollercoaster performance will quieten any of the aforementioned discussion.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER BLOWOUT

This is now the fifth blowout loss the Taipans have suffered this season, with only four of their games decided by less than 20 points.

It taps into a wider issue around large margins which has made its way into discussion across the league this season, with the Snakes certainly doing nothing to halt the talk of this being one of the least even seasons in NBL history on a game-by-game basis.

BULLETS PRODUCE ONE OF GREATEST COMEBACKS TO STUN BREAKERS

— Nick Tucker

The Bullets pulled off one of the great escape victories on Thursday when returning from an 18-point halftime deficit to beat the Breakers 84-83 in a thriller at Eventfinda Stadium.

The Bullets looked bamboozled in the first half allowing Sam Mennenga to score 25 points but kept him to just two points in the second half as the visitors reigned supreme in the final minute to win with defence.

In an all-important passage of play, Taine Murray met Max Darling at the rim with a rejection and on the other end, a cross-court pass from Jaylen Adams gave fan favourite Lamar Patterson his chance to intervene.

He did just that, driving to the cup and laying in the go-ahead bucket with 9.4 seconds left to lead by one point. In defence, Tyrell Harrison capped off a colossal second half effort with the biggest play of the game when twice swatting away the ball as it bounced around the rim and on both occasions looked likely to drop.

FIBA rules allow this sort of play which is not permitted in the NBA. Harrison’s IQ and long levers sealed the win and more importantly capped off an incredible comeback that has to be a building block for a Bullets side in need of making dramatic adjustments.

The Bullets missed 11 free throws after last week missing 10 in a nine-point loss against United. The Breakers shot a woeful 8-37 from deep and took 90 shots compared to Brisbane’s 66 and yet Brisbane trailed almost the entire game up until midway through the fourth.

The reality is, if Patterson and Harrison didn’t deliver in the clutch, Brisbane would be 2-6 and with tremendous soul-searching to do. Instead, they face the Phoenix at home this Saturday with confidence behind them.

BRISSY COMEBACK

The Bullets trailed 57-39 after showing little urgency defensively in the first half but came out firing to cut the deficit to just four, 72-68, entering the fourth.

The visitors barged their way back into the game, going on a mini run of 14-4 with gangly centre Harrison and smooth scorer Casey Prather putting on the moves.

Just 3:34 into the third and Brisbane trailed 61-53 and once Adams found his shot from deep, life had been sucked from the Breakers’ building.

Keeping Mennenga scoreless in the third was key in Brisbane winning that frame 29-15 after the homegrown North Island forward tore Brisbane’s defence apart in the first half.

After being down 18 points at half time, Brisbane took just its second lead when ahead 75-74 with 7:15 to go in the fourth. Adams (29pts) and Prather (26pts) meant business.

NEW WEEK, SAME BULLETS

Last week Brisbane found themselves in a hole early, trailing by 20 points in the first half and in the end it was too steep a mountain to climb.

The visitors came out even more sluggish, conceding to a 25-11 first-quarter Breakers explosion and trailing by as many as 23 in the half. Again, they were behind the eight ball far too soon.

The Bullets shot a measly 0-6 from deep and had made one three within the first 15 minutes. It was 33-13 just 11 minutes into the game, thanks to one man by the name of Mennenga.

MENNENGA MADNESS

Westlake Boys High product Mennenga, just 23 and with All-NBL selection an attainable goal, was a one-man wrecking crew that tore Brisbane’s soft defence into tatters.

Mennenga had 18 points with six minutes still left in the second quarter. He blew by Prather and emphatically slammed home a two-handed jam for his 20th point with 3:58 left.

At one stage he had 25 points and Brisbane just 28. Yet there was no clear-cut plan to shut Mennenga down, enforced by coach Stu Lash. That changed dramatically in the second half as Brisbane tightened the screws.

Earlier, it all looked too easy. He was dominant and he was effective (11-14 shooting). Brisbane had no answers and there was a canyon between the two sides entering the second half, 57-39.

Crafty guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright shot just 3-11 and yet his team was up big time. Unacceptable... until Brisbane’s whole-hearted heave in the second.

TEMPERS EXPLODE AFTER WILDCATS THRASH TAIPANS

Perth Wildcats have showcased their suite of attacking stars in a 32-point mauling of the Taipans in Cairns.

But the Snakes showed their biggest fight after the fulltime siren had sounded.

As players shook hands, Taipans import Admiral Schofield clashed with Wildcats star Jo Lual-Acuil and Lat Mayen - a former Taipan - as tensions exploded after the 110-78 demolition in the tropics.

While tempers were abated, it’s a fascinating post-script to what was a humiliating night for the Taipans.

The Wildcats were rarely troubled by the struggling Snakes as they opened an eight-point lead by quarter time, and they never showed mercy.

It wasn’t the biggest loss of this NBL season but it must have felt it for the Orange Army, as Jo Lual-Acuil (24pts) Kristian Doolittle (18pts, 8reb, 2stl), and Elijah Pepper (18pts, three-from-four from deep) dominated to send an emphatic message to the rest of the league that the team from way out west should be centre of mind.

Jaron Rillie and Ben Henshall each dropped 10pts, while Next Star Noa Kouakou-Heugue (8pts) also showed out in his biggest performance yet as Perth claimed every available point on offer in the Ignite Cup by winning every quarter.

The Taipans, meanwhile, are in the deepest of slumps.

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Admiral Schofield top-scored with 16 points on a night the Orange Army turned out to watch their team fall to a fourth-straight loss.

Million-dollar signing Jack McVeigh was again missing through injury, as was big Sam Waardenburg, and the duo will also miss the Friday night clash with Melbourne United.

Perth will host defending champions Illawarra on Sunday.