United prevail in low scoring affair

Despite a third quarter charge, the Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans were unable to overcome Melbourne United at the Cairns Convention Centre on Boxing Day, falling short 66-76.

Returning to their home court for the post-Christmas fixture, the Taipans welcomed back both Sam Waardenburg and Dillon Stith to the lineup – with the New Zealander immediately re-entering the starting unit.

Beginning his night by attacking the rim, Sam Waardenburg delivered the first points of Cairns’ night, before pulling down Marcus Lee’s miss at the other end.

However, the forward was unable to match Melbourne’s output, with the Victorians quickly grabbing the upper hand through their work in the paint – a lead that was brief with Pedro Bradshaw and Tanner Groves hitting back-to-back triples to even the contest.

Snatching the lead back at the first opporunity, Chris Goulding launched a deep three to reply, with a second triple forcing the Taipans to use the first timeout of the game.

Injecting Alex Higgins-Titsha into the action, the forward helped break Melbourne’s now 7-0 run with a block in his first play and a rebound in his second, however the youngster’s athleticism was not enough.

Sharing the ball around, both Tanner Krebs and Matthew Dellavedova catapulted the visitors onto another 6-0 run to close out the opening quarter.

After resting for the final minutes of the first quarter, Rob Edwards returned to action to deliver the opening points of the quarter only seconds after the action resumed.

However, the American wasn’t able continue his contributions on the offensive end, with the locals struggling to find the bottom of the basket with only a quarter of their shots dropping.

Taking advantage, Rob Loe, Kyle Bowen and Krebs crashed the glass hard – combining for 14 boards – to more than double Cairns’ rebounding efforts as United grabbed a firm grasp on the game.

Utilising their extra opportunities, United sparked another run to close out the first half, with a late layup from Groves bringing the margin to 17 points at the main break.

Returning to their starting unit when play resumed, Taran Armstrong quickly picked the pocket of Goulding, before Groves worked his way to the free throw to start a dominate quarter for the center.

Following up his free throws by draining a triple, then rejecting Dellavedova on the following play, the center handed momentum to the Taipans until Armstrong was called for a foul.

Successfully challenging the call to ensure that the momentum continued in their favour, Cairns raised their intensity on the defensive end to restrict United’s scoring to two shots at the free throw line until half way through the third quarter.

Withstanding a quick barrage from United to return the lead to 18 points, Higgins-Titsha lifted his efforts at both ends of the court to swing the game back in their favour, as the Taipans drew the margin back to eight points as the game entered its final term.

Using his experienced hand to guide them through the opening minutes, Kyle Adnam provided a quick series of points to draw the margin back to four points as the filled Cairns Convention Centre sensed a comeback.

However, the home side faced two quick injuries as the game approached its final moments – first Waardenburg, and then Edwards, with only the American returning to action.

After picking up his fifth and disqualifying foul, Groves was also forced to leave the action, with Cairns struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking over in a low scoring final term – reaching 15 points with a jump shot by Adnam in the dying seconds.

Posting consecutive 20+ point performances on his home court, Tanner Groves led the Taipans’ efforts on the offensive end to end with 20 points, six boards and four assists, whilst shooting at 70% and hitting all three of his attempts from range.

Scoring his highest total since making the move to Cairns, Adnam also made key contributions with his 12 points and one assist to help reduce the margin in the third quarter. In his return from injury, Waardenburg put up seven points, six rebounds and a dime, whilst Edwards posted six points, three boards and two assists.

“We were struggling to tick the scoreboard over, and it was hard being down 20 and then relying on us defensively and effort wise to chip away at the lead, but Kyle was one of the few guys that was able to tick the scoreboard over,” explained Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde.

“Bringing him out gave us the shot of offense that we needed – not just for that little stretch but also for when they turned up the pressure again in the fourth.

“We were down 20, and the boys could’ve easily just decided to roll over and extend their Christmas break or the festivities, but they’re a proud group.

“The fact that we brought it back from 20 down in such a grindy game, I’ll continue to give the boys credit for continuing to compete and fight.”

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans now have a week to prepare for their blockbuster New Year’s Eve fixture, where they’ll host the New Zealand Breakers at 6:30pm – tickets available HERE!