Edwards dominance unable to take down New Zealand

A scoring masterclass from Rob Edwards was not enough for the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans, who fell to the New Zealand Breakers 69-77 on Saturday afternoon.

Starting strong out of the gate, New Zealand opened the game by scoring the only points during the first two minutes – before Jonah Antonio rejected Next Star Karim Lopez then immediately knocked down a shot from three to get Cairns on the board.

Whilst Lopez steadily ticked the Breaker’s score over, the Taipans found their touch from deep to stop the visitors from breaking away.

Making his debut at the Cairns Convention Centre, Deshon Taylor stepped onto the floor to guard the MVP favourite Parker Jackson-Cartwright – locking down the defensive end to allow Rob Edwards to pull Cairns back in line with the Breakers.

Closing out the first quarter with 10 points to his name, Edwards kept the Taipans in touch whilst Jackson-Cartwright repeatedly found his teammates without Taylor to restrict him – forcing the guard to renter the game.

Earning themselves second chances by cleaning up more offensive rebounds than defensive, New Zealand steadily extended their lead despite their hosts being more efficient with their shots as the battle entered the second quarter.

Picking up their own intensity on the glass, the Taipans searched for their own second chance points – directing those chances to Edwards who continued his electric shooting.

Linking up with Lopez and Jackson-Cartwright, former Taipan Sam Mennenga helped build the Breaker’s lead to 12 points as the second half came to a close – before Edwards found an easy layup to bring it back to 10 points.

Closing out the half with 22 points, the American led scoring across both sides of the court, with fellow guard Taran Armstrong repeatedly setting him up to end his half with six assists.

Not content with his performance, Edwards opened the second half strong – utilising a second chance generated by Tanner Groves to find an and-one, before returning to the line on his next trip down the floor.

After hitting four shots from deep in the first half, the guard moved his attack into the paint to continue building up his impressive scoring display – bringing the Orange Army to their feet.

With momentum in the Convention Centre swinging in favour of the locals, the Taipans increased their hustle on the glass to bring back their rebounding deficit and draw the margin back to four points.

After taking his first break of the game late in the third quarter, Edwards quickly returned to court to continue his masterclass – now joined by AK Gak to increase Cairns’ dominance in the paint.

Sensing the momentum swinging into their favour, the Taipans shifted into a higher gear on the defensive end – keeping New Zealand scoreless for three minutes, drawing them ever closer to their rivals.

With the Convention Centre now reaching a frenzy, Antonio drilled a shot from behind the line to give Cairns their first lead of the game, before pulling down a crucial rebound at the other end to give them a chance to build the lead.

Looking for a chance to grow the margin, Edwards searched for an easy bucket only for Jackson-Cartwright to draw a charge – the American’s fifth foul, removing him from the contest.

Inspiring by their teammate’s scoring masterclass, Antonio and Sam Waardenburg took on the challenge to keep their momentum going, until Matt Mooney put up eight unanswered points to secure the win for New Zealand.

Putting up the fifth highest total across the league this season, Rob Edwards ended his night with 33 points, five rebounds and an assist across his 32 minutes on court.

Given the job of restricting Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Jonah Antonio and Deshon Taylor limited the American to his worst performance this season for scoring and assists, with Antonio finishing his night with nine points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block, and no fouls despite the tough assignment.

After being relegated to the bench to make way for the returning Tanner Groves, AK Gak continued his string of strong performances with 11 points, eight rebounds, one steal and one block.

“PJC was Jonah’s assignment, and he took it brilliantly I thought. Especially defending the MVP calibre of PJC like that, and to do so without fouling either,” said Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde.

“We were just subbing him out because it’s taxing – he’s picking up full court and he’s been disruptive, and he was just chasing and denying him off every action possible, so I thought that he was brilliant for us on the defensive end.

“We just went through with the group downstairs of where particular things went astray, and just what we can improve on and get better from. We just need to keep plugging away, and we’ve got to learn from it and get better from it.”

“I feel like it’s important for this one to hurt,” said Taipans guard Taran Armstrong.

“I need something to kick me back into gear a little bit. So, I’ll take everything I can from this game, and it’ll be a brutal learning experience for me.”

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans now face a two-week FIBA break, before they return to the Cairns Convention Centre on Friday 29 November. Suiting up for their Heritage Round clash, they'll host the Sydney Kings from 6:30pm – tickets available HERE.