Poor shooting night sees Kings fall to JackJumpers in Hobart

By Matt McQuade

Result: Tasmania JackJumpers 77 Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 70

Stats that matter: Kings 3/23 3PT FG (13%); Kings 15 turnovers; JackJumpers 12 three-pointers; Kings 15 fast break points

Kings MVP: Xavier Cooks played with his usual hustle and aggression at both ends of the floor.

Turning Point: The JackJumpers nailed five straight triples in the second quarter to grab the momentum.

The game was over when: JackJumpers forward Jack McVeigh made a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining.

Trending in the right direction: The team continued to show heart despite a game where very little went right for them.

A tough shooting night has seen the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings fall 77-70 to the feisty Tasmania JackJumpers on Friday night at MyState Bank Arena in Hobart.

Sydney shot just 3 of 23 from three-point range over the 40 minute span and made only five field goals in the second half in an upset loss that drops them to 5-7 on the season.

Ironically, the first quarter looked nothing like the rest of the game. The Kings led 24-15 after the opening ten minutes and shot 50% from the field as import point guard Jaylen Adams (24 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals), dominated the action with nine points in the frame.

But the Kings, who lost forward Matur Maker before the game to a knee complaint, could only manage 46 points in the final 30 minutes with their shooting woes contributing mightily to their downfall.

“We didn’t make a lot of shots and you’re not going to win many games going three of 23 from three at 13%; it’s probably not going to get that done,” Head Coach Chase Buford said afterwards.

“In the second half we had some great looks; wide open threes that didn’t go down.”

“Jaylen Adams had a couple of lay-ups that rimmed out, we all had a few lay-ups that rimmed out, (Will) Magnay had some good blocks, but it was one of those nights where you’ve got to make some shots.”

“We got some great looks throughout the night but just weren’t able to make them.”

And where the Kings couldn’t buy a bucket in the last three quarters, Tasmania’s second quarter was the period that turned the game on its head.

The home team blasted 29 points in the second stanza, including a run in the last four minutes where they nailed five consecutive three pointers as part of a closing 17-4 run that gave them a 44-38 lead at the main break.

With Xavier Cooks (18 points, 13 rebounds) working his tail off at both ends of the court, Sydney continued to fight and scrap in the third despite the frustration of their continued offensive struggles. The purple and gold stayed alive by constantly putting heat on the rim and getting to the free throw line; going to the charity stripe 14 times in the third period alone.

Two free throws from Jaylen Adams saw the Kings down 58-54 with a quarter remaining against a team that had been overrun by the purple and gold at Qudos Bank Arena back in Round Three. Based off that , there was still plenty of hope that the visitors could escape with a W.

But it wasn’t to be this time as a raucous sell-out crowd in Hobart urged the JackJumpers on.

Sydney never quit, and trailed by just five points thanks to two free throws from Dejan Vasiljevic, but Tasmania forged to a double-figure lead with just over two minutes remaining on the back of an 11-5 run, with big man Will Magnay (12 points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots) and import guard Josh Magette (18 points) both coming up with big plays at key moments.

Cooks and Adams tried to pull back the margin, but it was all to no avail, as the JackJumpers won their third consecutive game to pull ahead of Sydney on the NBL ladder.

Other than Cooks and Adams, Jarell Martin was the only other King with double figure scoring, producing 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals in a solid display. Sydney shot the ball at 36% from the field, just 13% from behind the three-point line and made 27 of 33 free throws.

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Sydney now heads back home for the second game of their away/home double in Round 10. On Sunday 6 February, the Kings will do battle with the New Zealand Breakers at Qudos Bank Arena, with tipoff at 1:00pm AEST, as part of an NBL/WNBL double-header, with the Sydney Uni Flames taking on the Townsville Fire at 3:30pm AEST. Tickets for the double-header are available via Ticketek.

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TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 77 (Magette 18, McVeigh 17, Josh Adams 16)
BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 70 (Jaylen Adams 24, Cooks 18, Martin 16) at MyState Bank Arena, Hobart.

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