McVeigh’s 34 Leads Taipans in Pride Round Loss to Wildcats

Jack McVeigh poured in a valiant 34 points, but the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans were overrun 106-69 by the Perth Wildcats at RAC Arena on Thursday night in a fast-paced Pride Round clash.

Cairns came out with a small-ball starting look and got immediate reward through Australian Boomer McVeigh, who set the tone early by backing down Kristian Doolittle in the midrange before stepping out and knocking down threes to keep the Snakes level in a frantic opening.

The Taipans were locked at 16-16 midway through the first quarter and found a momentum jolt when Lachlan Barker banked in a ridiculous shot-clock-beating three with a defender in his face.

But Perth’s interior presence, led by import Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (12 points and six rebounds) and two-way forward Kristian Doolittle (19 points), helped the Wildcats take control of key moments leading 30-25 at quarter-time.

Portland playmaker Andrew Andrews notched five first quarter assists for the third time in his past four matches. 

The Wildcats then struck first in the second term, stretching the margin to 40-28.

Cairns scoring leader McVeigh continued to fire home tough shots, steadying the side while shifty scorer Kody Stattmann found paths to the paint to punch the scoreline along. 

However, Perth carried a 54-43 advantage into the main break.

The game’s defining stretch arrived straight after halftime.

Perth erupted with a third-quarter avalanche (38-13) stretching the margin out to 69-46 with 6:55 remaining.

Three-point specialist Elijah Pepper (25 points and 7-9 from three) caught fire as the Wildcats’ pace and balance overwhelmed Cairns.

By three-quarter time it was 92-56. 

Former Houston Rocket McVeigh continued to fight the scoreboard, sitting for long stretches of the fourth with the result beyond reach before returning later in the period.

He finished with a valiant 34 points (13-26 FG and 8-15 from three) and four rebounds and was Cairns’ only player in double figures on the night.

Cairns local Stattmann, making his third start of the season, had eight points, three rebounds and two assists.

Andrews finished with eight points, eight assists and two steals, while Barker added nine points. 

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:
“In the first half we were switched on with a number of things but the one-on-one matchups were eating us up, but our issue in the third quarter was our attention to detail and our concentration levels were gone.”

“When you look at the dynamic centres in the league, Jo Lual-Acuil is one of the best ones. Our dynamic centre is Sam Waardenburg and his ability to stretch the defence, put the ball on the floor and defend.”

“We look to Marcus Lee and Kyrin Galloway to fill that void, but they’re uniquely (different players). To get them to do what Waardenburg does is unfair. We’re trying to utilise their best strengths. Sometimes they have great games, sometimes they have bad games and today was just a bad game.”

“There was a design for how (the side) was supposed to look. Reyne Smith played 11 games and Alex Higgins-Titsha played nine games. We changed out our point guard early on, Andrews has been fantastic but joined our side late. Waardenburg only playing eight games wasn't on our list and we don’t have the means to replace him. It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing I can do about (the injuries).”

“This group is a really good group of guys, I don’t have any disciplinary issues. They work hard and they’re doing everything I can ask for. We’re just depleted and the confidence has taken a massive hit. All I can ask is to wash this one, we’ve still got seven games to play. We'll keep rolling with this group for the last month of the season.”

McVeigh Stands Tall
In a tough road result, McVeigh was unbelievable from start to finish, carrying the Taipans’ offense as Cairns searched for answers through Perth’s decisive second-half surge.

Heading into the game, Jack McVeigh was averaging 20.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

The Taipans sharpshooter has scored 20 or more points 12 times this season.
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Third-quarter Decider
Cairns trailed by 11 at halftime, but Perth’s post-break burst settled the contest.

The Wildcats’ 38-13 third quarter turned a competitive first half into a runaway margin.

Young Guns Get a Shot
With the margin out of reach late, Taipans head coach Adam Forde used the fourth quarter to spread minutes and give opportunities to the club’s young guns and development players.

Guard Lloyd McVeigh logged a career-high 8:56 in his eighth appearance of the season.

Taipans centre and development player Jed Richardson also made his second appearance of the season.
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‍The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans now head east to face the Phoenix on Saturday afternoon at 4:30pm AEST. The Taipans then return to the Far North for their next home fixture against the Tasmania JackJumpers on Friday, January 30. Grab your tickets HERE.