The Tasmania JackJumpers have edged out the NZ Breakers by two points, winning 79-77 in Round 8 of the NBL at the Silverdome on Friday.
Tasmania jumped out to a 27-19 lead after the first quarter, but the Breakers won the second quarter 24-16 to level the scores at 43-all at half-time.
A 21-12 third quarter put the home side nine points ahead at the final break, before New Zealand outscored them 22-15 in the last quarter.
Dakota Mathias led the JackJumpers with 18 points, making four of his 10 three-point attempts, and added five rebounds.
Will Magnay scored 16 points and had three blocks, while Josh Bannan finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Taran Armstrong contributed 10 points and four assists.
For the Breakers, Sam Mennenga was the game’s top scorer with 29 points and 17 rebounds, shooting 13 of 19 from the field.
Carlin Davison had nine assists for New Zealand.
The JackJumpers sit second on the NBL ladder with seven wins and three losses from 10 games, a winning percentage of 70%.
New Zealand is ninth, with four wins and seven losses from 11 games, or 36.4%.
Next up for Tasmania is a trip to RAC Arena to face the Perth Wildcats in Round 9 on Thursday November 12, with the game starting at 9:30pm.
The Breakers and JackJumpers meet again in Round 13 at Claudelands Arena on Friday December 18, starting at 5:30pm.
