Tasmania JackJumpers Stun Phoenix in NBL Opener
The Tasmania JackJumpers opened their NBL27 campaign with a comeback win, a rules controversy and a roaring home crowd that left MyState Bank Arena buzzing long after the final buzzer.
They beat South East Melbourne Phoenix 96-91. That’s the simple part.
Everything else was chaos.
A game flipped by a rulebook twist
With 32 seconds left, Tasmania clung to a 91-89 lead. Phoenix import D’Shawn Schwartz hounded Nick Marshall up the floor, forced the turnover, then picked his pocket clean. Marshall grabbed at him to stop the play and was whistled for a foul.
On review, officials upgraded it to a disruptive foul under the new FIBA interpretations. Two free throws for Phoenix. A chance to tie the game in a hostile building. Momentum swinging.
Then it all unraveled.
Skylar Mays stepped to the line. Not Schwartz, who had been fouled. Mays calmly took the ball, seemingly convinced he was allowed to shoot as the designated option.
Nobody stopped him.
It wasn’t until JackJumpers coach Scott Roth and forward Josh Bannan made it clear to the officials that the wrong player was at the stripe that the temperature in the arena changed. Confusion spread from the benches to the stands as referees huddled and headed back to the monitor.
Phoenix coach Josh King could only shake his head.
“Very confusing. I’ve never seen... I have to get some clarity behind it,” he said post-game, still trying to piece together the sequence. “I think the way I understood it, they said it was our ball. It was two shots and the ball I think?”
The key detail sat in the FIBA rulebook: under rule 45.4.3, if the wrong player attempts a free throw, that free throw is cancelled and possession is awarded to the opposition for a throw-in from the free-throw line extended.
That’s exactly what happened.
Because Mays went to the line on his own, without being directed there by the referees, the officials had no avenue to simply swap shooters and restore the original penalty. Once he attempted the free throw, the rule kicked in. Free throws gone. Phoenix possession gone. Tasmania ball.
King explained the misunderstanding from his side.
“I think what Skylar thought is anybody could shoot because it was a unsportsmanlike foul and we got the ball back. But then when Skylar went to the line, it wiped out everything.”
There was no review mechanism available in the final two minutes to overturn the ruling. The decision stood. The crowd, already loud, turned volcanic.
Roth declined to comment on the controversy afterward. He didn’t need to. The scoreboard did the talking.
Phoenix let a 14-point lead slip
For all the noise around the final-minute drama, King refused to blame the rulebook for the loss.
“At the end of the day, that has nothing to do with the final result,” he said. “You don’t want to put your team in this situation where we have to rely on a play like that. So that’s not what decided the game at all.”
He had a point.
Phoenix led 52-38 at halftime, in control and carving up a short-handed Tasmania side. They owned the first half, outpacing the JackJumpers and silencing the home fans with confident, free-flowing offence.
Then the game flipped.
Tasmania outscored South East Melbourne 58-39 after the break, tightening the screws defensively and methodically chipping away at the lead. The JackJumpers’ trademark grit returned, the crowd re-engaged, and Phoenix’s composure began to fray.
Angus Glover, brilliant off the bench early, had set the tone for Phoenix with 21 points, sparking their first-half surge. Mays added 18 points, six rebounds and two assists, doing plenty of damage before the late-game misstep.
But the visitors couldn’t withstand the second-half storm.
Shorthanded JackJumpers dig deep
This was a win built on resilience as much as drama.
Tasmania entered the night without Josh Bannan, Ben Ayre, Anthony Drmic and Bryce Hamilton. A chunk of their rotation, gone. Roth had to lean heavily on his imports and a shortened group.
They delivered.
Import guard David Johnson lit up MyState Bank Arena with a complete performance: 26 points, six rebounds and six assists on 10-of-15 shooting. Every time Tasmania needed a bucket, he seemed to find a lane, a pull-up, a gap in Phoenix’s defence.
On debut, Taran Armstrong played with the poise of a veteran, adding 19 points and providing another steady handle in the backcourt. His aggression out of the halftime break helped drag Tasmania back into the contest.
Will Magnay, still on restricted minutes, made his presence felt with 14 points, four rebounds and six assists, anchoring the middle and serving as a high-post hub on offence. His passing and physicality gave the JackJumpers a different dimension when they needed it most.
In typical Roth fashion, the JackJumpers didn’t panic when the game looked like it might slip away. They defended the island, tightened their rotations, and turned a 14-point deficit into a statement opening-night win.
The controversy will dominate the highlight reels. The fightback will matter more inside that locker room.
What comes next
Tasmania barely have time to exhale. They’re on a plane north to face the Cairns Taipans on Wednesday, carrying both momentum and a few sore bodies into a quick turnaround.
Phoenix head home with a rulebook lesson and a missed opportunity. They return to Melbourne to face cross-town rivals Melbourne United at John Cain Arena on Thursday night, needing a response and, perhaps, a cleaner handle on the fine print that can decide a season.
