Round 8: Taipans can't quite overcome Breakers at home

CQUniversity Cairns Taipans (71) lost to New Zealand Breakers (82)
Round 8 | Cairns Convention Centre
Next Game: Taipans v Kings, Monday 28 November 6:30pm AEST

SUMMARY

The CQUniversity Cairns Taipans brought the energy early and opened up a 6-2 lead on their home floor, and their pressure was leading to a host of New Zealand Breakers turnovers that they were able to take full advantage of.

The Snakes capitalised with an 11-0 run that started with three-pointers to Shannon Scott and DJ Hogg to see their advantage out to 19-9.

Cairns still led 23-16 by quarter-time with the nine turnovers from the Breakers meaning the Taipans took seven extra field goals with 16 of the 23 points coming in the paint.

The Snakes were back up nine early in the second quarter with a triple from Ben Ayre, but the game then on a dramatic transformation.

Things dried up completely offensively for the home team with New Zealand scoring the next 12 points including three-pointers to Izayah Le'afa and Jarrell Brantley on yet another offensive rebound.

Will McDowell-White set up Dererk Pardon for the flush and the Breakers were on top.

A powerful and-one finish late in the half from Pardon helped New Zealand head into the break leading 35-32 having held the Taipans to nine points for the quarter and to just two field goal makes.

The Taipans started the second half better with a couple of buckets to Keanu Pinder, but the Breakers continued to have all the answers and their lead was soon out to double-figures with Le'afa and Tom Abercrombie connecting from downtown.

Barry Brown Jr was warming up too and nailed a couple of triples on his way to 10 points in a matter of minutes, but the Taipans stayed in touch. The margin was just six following a half-court prayer on the three quarter-time buzzer that banked in from Tahjere McCall.

The Breakers were soon back up 10 to start the fourth term, but the Taipans weren’t going to go down without a fight. They closed the deficit with six straight points, and then a breakaway finish from Shannon Scott made it a three-point ball game with six minutes on the clock.

Scott scored again to bring the margin back to one but New Zealand steadied with a Le'afa three following another offensive rebound.

That began a game clinching 10-0 run for the Breakers with Brown hitting another big shot, Brantley draining a three and Le'afa scoring again on the break with New Zealand going on to win by 11.

STATISTICS

Sam Waardenburg put up 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks on 6/8 shooting for the Taipans with Keanu Pinder contributing 14 points, 10 boards and three assists.

Tahjere McCall also had 13 points and three steals with Shannon Scott finishing with nine points and seven assists.

Jonah Antonio knocked down two threes for six points while Bul Kuol contributed five points, DJ Hogg four points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, Ben Ayre three points and an assist, and Majok Deng two points, three rebounds and a steal.

STATEMENTS

Head Coach Adam Forde: 

"New Zealand, for the second time now, did a great job of slowing us down. We had no points in the paint really and it's got to be pretty low in terms of transition points for us. In the first quarter we got some stops and got some momentum, and we generated something like half a dozen steals and then Ayre's three to start the second. Then we didn’t really score anything other than the three foul shots at the end of the half. Credit to New Zealand, I mean that's a tough defensive team. Anytime we sort of got a little bit of momentum or a run, they just slowed us right down and made us play at their pace. They were tough."

Taipans Guard Bul Kuol:

"I think they did a good job of just going to their guys and a few of their main guys went off tonight. Defensively we did good in the first half, but I think we need to do a better job especially in the second half where we just went one-on-one and stuff like that. But yeah, they are a tough physical team. It's nothing crazy they do, I think they're just a team that aren’t going to beat themselves. I think we match up well against them but we just never got going offensively so I don't think it's anything crazy, it's just two games now where they've brought the energy and we just haven't matched it up."