Tassie snaps losing run, Sydney's winning streak

The Tasmania JackJumpers defied a short turnaround to fire on all cylinders back home on Sunday afternoon to beat the Sydney Kings for a third time already this NBL season 104-81.

The JackJumpers were on top right from the outset with Bryce Hamilton putting up 22 points, six rebounds and six assists with Ben Ayre adding 19 points on 3/4 three-point shooting, and Josh Bannan another 19 points and eight boards.

Sydney had Bul Kuol, Tyler Robertson and Xavier Cooks all foul out with Kendric Davis finishing with 20 points and four assists, Kouat Noi 18 points and three assists, and Makuach Maluach 11 points and five rebounds.

The JackJumpers were back at MyState Bank Arena after a competitive showing in Perth on Friday night even though it was their sixth straight loss.

They were hosting a Kings team who hadn’t played since securing a fourth straight win last Sunday even if they arrived without Matthew Dellavedova still through illness.

Tasmania made the flying start leading 12-3 and they then put up 33 points to 16 in a blistering second quarter to be on top 60-40 by the half with 20 free-throw attempts to Sydney's 11 after conceding the first 15 foul shots to Perth on Friday.

Foul trouble became a story of the game for Sydney with former MVP and championship captain Cooks collecting a fourth foul early in the third quarter forcing him to sit.

Kuol did too but coach Brian Goorjian kept him out there and it didn’t take him long to pick up a fifth foul with over zealous back court checking of Tyger Campbell in the back court with 15 minutes of the game remaining.

Tasmania maintained a 17-point lead by three quarter-time before completing the 23-point win to snap their six-game losing run heading into next week's FIBA break at 6-9 and cemented in the top six.

The JackJumpers welcomed back import David Johnson (15 points, five assists) on Friday and then captain Will Magnay (eight points, seven rebounds) on Sunday with both having a significant impact.

The Kings are now 7-6 and having lost all three times against JackJumpers with the foul trouble to Cooks, Kuol and Tim Soares only adding to the pain of missing experienced guards Dellavedova and Shaun Bruce.

The JackJumpers were back home after playing in Perth on Friday and boosted by the presence of Will Magnay who opened the scoring, the home team went on a 10-0 scoring run early including a triple to David Johnson to be leading 12-3.

The Kings worked back into the contest despite the JackJumpers having 10 free-throw attempts to one in the opening term, and the home team did go into quarter-time leading 27-24 with Josh Bannan the standout with nine points to continue his career-best form.

The JackJumpers then blew the game open to start the second quarter with the opening eight points including three-pointers to Ben Ayre and Bannan.

The lead got out to 17 later in the second quarter with back-to-back three balls too from Bryce Hamilton and with 20 free throws to 11, and just one turnover to seven from Sydney, the JackJumpers were feeling good leading 60-40 going into the half.

The fouls continued to mount in the third quarter for Sydney with Xavier Cooks collecting a fourth as did Bul Kuol, who also made it five soon after to end his night only five minutes into the second half.

Kouat Noi and Kendric Davis tried to mount a Sydney fightback, but Tasmania were still up by 17 at three quarter-time with Nick Marshall landing a triple just before the buzzer.

The turnovers mounted early in the fourth frame as the Kings attempted to come back with the JackJumpers having all the answers to complete their first win since October 26.

Both teams now don't play again until after the FIBA break with the Kings first up with an Ignite Cup clash in Hamilton against the New Zealand Breakers on Wednesday December 3.

The JackJumpers will be back in action also against the Breakers albeit at Spark Arena in Auckland two days later.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 104 (Hamilton 22, Ayre 19, Bannan 19)

SYDNEY KINGS 81 (Davis 20, Noi 18, Maluach 11)

BOX SCORE