McVeigh and Andrew not enough as Taipans edged by Breakers

A one-two punch from dynamic scorers Jack McVeigh and Andrew Andrews wasn’t enough to push the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans over the line, falling 102–96 to the New Zealand Breakers in a spirited contest at the Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday afternoon.

Backing up from his 39-point explosion in Adelaide, McVeigh again carried a massive load.

The Boomer torched the Breakers for 35 points (12-21 FG and 5-12 from three), seven rebounds and four assists in a full 40-minute shift, bullying defenders in the mid range, attacking closeouts and answering every New Zealand surge with tough shot-making.

Andrews was the organiser and spark. The import guard finished with 23 points (8-16 FG), nine assists and four steals, going toe-to-toe with league-leading playmaker Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

He repeatedly snaked his way through pick-and-rolls, finding McVeigh on pops and versatile forward Mojave King on the perimeter to keep Cairns in the fight.

Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde:
‍“Jack (McVeigh) was tough, we were running all sorts of actions for him to get going — setting cross screens, wedge screens and down screens — the last five minutes he was dragging himself down one end of the floor to the other. He’s an absolute gladiator. It was unfortunate again that we couldn’t get some more help for him. Jack is having an All NBL season. He’s a one man wrecking crew at the moment.”

“We showed a couple clips of Andrews' defensive work to the team at halftime, in shift positions, being positioned in gaps with active hands and getting loose balls. We asked a few other guys to rise to his level of intensity.”

“Andrews is performing at both ends for us. He and Jack were really serviceable for us tonight.”

It came after a sluggish start, with the Breakers owning the paint early. Former Taipan Sam Mennenga and rising star Karim López set the tone inside, helping New Zealand rack up 28 first-half points in the key.

Mennenga, who began his NBL career in Cairns and has been in career-best form this season, finished with 22 points and seven rebounds against his former club.

Jackson-Cartwright, the league’s assists leader heading into Round 10, added 20 points and six dimes, steadying the Breakers whenever the Taipans threatened.

López, looming as a potential NBA lottery pick next year, chipped in 15 points on 6-8 shooting, flashing his touch and athleticism, while Izaiah Brockington finished with 22 points and 11 boards.

For Cairns, King (nine points, 3-6 3P) and Kyrin Galloway (eight points) provided valuable support, with Galloway remaining in the starting five.

In the end, New Zealand’s balanced punch edged it — but for Taipans fans, the relentless efforts of McVeigh and Andrews underlined the heart of an undermanned group heading into the FIBA break.

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans will now prepare to return to action close to full strength after the break, with the side hopeful to see Sam Waardenburg, Reyne Smith and Kody Stattmann return to the court in December. They'll first face the Illawarra Hawks on the road on Saturday, 6 December, before returning to Cairns to host the Tasmania JackJumpers on Saturday, 13 December at 4:30pm. Grab your tickets HERE.