JackJumpers beat Melbourne United in NBL
The JackJumpers will head to Brisbane full of confidence ahead of a matchup with the Bullets following another gusty win over Melbourne United on Saturday night. Scott Roth praised the side’s ticker after the game.
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THE JackJumpers will head to Brisbane full of confidence later this week ahead of a matchup with the Bullets following another gusty win over Melbourne United on Saturday night.
Tasmania continue to enhance their gritty, never say die reputation after a spirited 94-90 come from behind victory over United on their home court.
After trailing for almost the entire game the Jackies continued their dominance over United with a 23-15 final term as Milton Doyle (23 points) capped off his starring night with a pair of clutch buckets to snatch the lead and silence the crowd at John Cain Arena.
With 1:03 left on the clock and down 90-87 the smooth-moving American converted a game-tying and-one layup with 50 seconds left before hitting a tough runner on the next possession to give the Jackies a 92-90 lead before Rashard Kelly iced the game from the foul line.
It was another brave win from the JackJumpers who trailed 31-23 at the end of the first quarter before pulling off yet another trademark ‘grit n grind’ victory.
“They just never give up and it’s not always pretty but the people in Tasmania expect us to fight like this win or lose and so I’m very proud of our group,’ coach Scott Roth said following the win.
“In the huddle in the fourth quarter when we started we said we wanted to hold them to 15 points and I look down here and we held them to 15 points in that quarter.
“Our MO is always to be a defensive minded team but really our MO is to defend the island and grit and grind and I’m just incredibly proud of all these guys and the fight they have in them.”
Last season’s NBL Coach of the Year was again full of praise for Doyle who is quickly establishing himself as the team’s go to guy this season.
“’Milt’ was fantastic,” Roth said.
“He’s quite smooth and easy going and looks like he’s not doing a lot and then he has these explosions where he’s just really tough to handle.
“And as [Will] Magnay gets healthy , with him in the pick n roll and ‘Milts’ ability to do some of those things just opens the floor for a lot of guys.”
The Smiling Assassin Jack McVeigh (17 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks), and Rashard Kelly (12 points, three assists) were also huge factors in the fight back win, while the ever improving Sean Macdonald scored a career high 14 points in another strong outing.
While Roth was thrilled with a number of individual performances he said it was a spread of contributors that led them to their sixth win of the season.
“Jack has been a steady for us and continues to improve and has great growth in his game,” he said.
“Him and Rashard are quite the duo at times and can be a handful together and they played quite well down the stretch for us.
“Jack’s [got an] ability to make shots and just be creative around the basket and it looks like he’s running in mud but he’s actually getting things done and he’s been a heck of a player for us.
“But again it’s everyone chipping in. [Josh] Magette didn’t practice for three days because his wife was in labor and he flew in late to be with us and so guys are just doing what they need to do to get things across the line for us.
“Seany Mac’ [Sean Macdonlad] was fantastic again and ‘Whitey’ [Isaac White] came in and had really quality minutes for us when we needed, and it was just a team effort and again I’m just really proud of our group.”
Tasmania now sit at 6-6 following what was its sixth win in its past seven games against United.
The Jackies will look to get ahead of the ledger on Sunday with another road trip against Brisbane at Nissan Arena.
Luckless JackJumper suffers another serious injury
WHILE Milton Doyle will spearhead a pair of handy inclusions for the JackJumpers clash with Melbourne United on Saturday, the team has been left with another man down after news that Sam McDaniel has been ruled out indefinitely with a calf injury sustained at practice this week.
McDaniel’s injury continues a wretched run of luck for the defensive guard who had only recently returned to the court after recovering from two fractured ribs and a collapsed lung suffered on the eve of the season playing for the Hobart Chargers.
McDaniel will now join Matt Kenyon on the sidelines who was ruled out for 4-6 weeks last week after straining his calf.
In positive news the JackJumpers will welcome back both Doyle and vice-captain Jarrad Weeks after the pair were ruled fit to play after overcoming their respective heel and ankle injuries.
In further good news, JackJumpers coach Scott Roth confirmed that point guard Josh Magette would take his place in the team following the announcement he and his wife Christina recently welcomed a healthy baby boy.
“It’s exciting for their family and Christina and ‘Jet’ to have their second child,” Roth said at Hobart Airport on Friday afternoon.
“Tasmanian born which is the first in our club’s history and we’ll rally around them.
“He’ll fly in later today to meet the team and they’re doing well and we are excited for them.”
The JJs will be hoping the return of Doyle and Weeks, plus Magette’s availability, can help the team bounce back from its 84-76 point loss to New Zealand in fiery clash in Launceston last Friday.
Despite a pair of consecutive losses to the Bullets and the Breakers, Tasmania should enter Saturday’s matchup at John Cain Arena full of confidence after a number of strong wins over United in the past 12 months.
However, despite its strong history against Saturday’s foe- including a huge upset win in last year’s semi-finals and a 74-64 win earlier this season- Roth said the evenness of the competition had him well aware it stood for nothing come Saturday.
“The league has shown itself time and time again, especially this year, that’s there’s a lot of parity and if you’re off your game you’re going to lose,” Roth said.
“Everyone can beat everyone and home court doesn’t seem to be much of an advantage.
“The league is quite competitive and we just have to try and put our best foot forward and do the best we can.
“We are on the road here for a few games and this is just one of them and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow (Saturday) night.”
Roth also said star centre Will Magnay- who played his first game in almost 300 days last Saturday- was recovering well from his first proper hitout but said he would continue to be restricted to 14-15 minutes per game for the next ‘few weeks.’
The JJs coach said despite Magnay’s limited minutes he was excited by the prospect of pairing him with the returning Doyle.
In what will be the duos first official game together, Roth said he was hoping the pair could quickly establish a lethal pick and roll combination, similar to that between Magnay and Magette.
“We’ve been waiting all along for Milton and him [Magnay] to be teamed up together, it’s just about managing the minutes,” Roth said.
“The reality is Magnay can only be on floor for 3-4 minutes [at a time] and that’s not a big window of time but we’ll try and keep those two together as much as we can, and ‘Jet’ [Magette], but we just have to manage his minutes correctly.”
Doyle- who admitted he was not yet back to 100 per cent following his heel injury- said he was just as keen to see how he could combine with the 208cm centre.
“I’m very excited. This was the first week of really getting a feel of playing with him on the court and I feel we got some good looks during practice and a little chemistry going.”
The JJS and United will tip off at 8pm on Saturday.
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