BOXSCORE

Taipans centre Ian Crosswhite has celebrated his 200th career game by leading his side to a dominant 74-57 win against New Zealand in Cairns.

Crosswhite scored 12 points and muscled up for eight rebounds as the Snakes strangled the Breakers beyond repair. He fell just shy of the 16 he needed to notch 1000 points in the Taipans’ orange.

Just two weeks ago the Breakers thrashed Cairns by 20 in Auckland, but it was a completely different story in the return game.

Cairns kept the defending champions to just eight points in the third quarter and it allowed the sell-out crowd of nearly 5300 to celebrate New Year’s Eve in style.

The Taipans were able to slow the game to their pace and it threw the Kiwi’s offence out of sync, only some individual brilliance keeping the visitors close until half-time.

The Breakers had no answer to the Taipans’ strangling ways and it didn’t sit well with them as several scuffles threaten to blow out in the final quarter.

Crosswhite set the tone early, powering the Taipans to a 10-4 lead. His partner-in-crime Alex Loughton (20 points, rebounds) continued the schooling with a massive one-handed slam over Alex Pledger to give
his side a 10-point lead in the third.

New Zealand shot at just 34 percent from the field as their usual offensive fluency deserted them. Pledger (10 points, seven rebounds) was the best for the visitors.

Cairns Taipans 74 (Loughton 20, Wilson 18, Crosswhite 12)
 New Zealand Breakers 57 (Pledger 10)

Crowd: 5289 (sell-out) at Cairns Convention Centre