BOXSCORE

The Cairns Taipans have gone from embarrassing to emphatic, defeating the Melbourne Tigers 77-56 on Saturday night in Cairns to end the Victorians’ post-season hopes.

The win comes 24 hours after a franchise-low 43 points against Townsville and keeps the Taipans in the hunt for their own finals run.

Cairns exploded in front of nearly 5000 home fans for a 27-point first quarter, Brad Hill a menace in transition and veteran Aaron Grabau making the hustle plays.

By half-time the Taipans already had 49 points, with point guard Jamar Wilson (25 points, 7 rebounds) making up for Friday’s quiet effort to lead the way.

In contrast Melbourne were held to just 31, Cairns’ defence locking up his import Myron Allen’s use of the pick-and-roll and starving Cam Tragardh of opportunities.

The deficit blew out to 27 in the third period as the Tigers’ defensive work rate dropped alarmingly, Wilson scoring 11 points in the last seven minutes to put the boisterous crowd in party mode.

 The Snakes’ starters clocked off early, 10 Taipans playing more than 12 minutes as they coasted to another home victory.

Worryingly for the hosts though, both Ian Crosswhite and Wilson limped through the second half, Crosswhite only clocking 18 minutes.

Allen top-scored for Melbourne with 13, while Tragardh had 12, but the Tigers were out-rebounded 43-31 and never showed the fight required after Cairns’ frenetic start.

Former Taipans Dan Dillon and Ron Dorsey spent the bulk of the second and third quarters on the bench and scored just five points between them.

Continuing his Indian summer, Grabau finished with 13 points and four rebounds, while Hill (9 points, 5 rebounds) also showed great ticker.

Cairns Taipans 77 (Wilson 25, Grabau 13)    
Melbourne Tigers 56 (Allen 13, Tragardh 12)

Crowd:  4872 at Cairns Convention Centre