Canadian McIntosh Helps Tasmania To First NBL Win

Torontonian MiKyle McIntosh helped the Tasmania JackJumpers make history down under, playing a significant part for the new franchise in their first NBL win.

McIntosh was signed to the new Tasmanian team of Australia's top-flight basketball league over the summer and made his debut for the team in the league's pre-season tournament. Held in Tasmania, in the new arena the JackJumpers now call home, all nine NBL teams will be playing in a series of exhibition games ahead of the 2021-22 season start in December.

The host team were looking to recover after a ten-point loss in their first game against the Brisbane Bullets days earlier. There McIntosh scored sixteen points in a heavy loss for the team who hoped to begin their history with a winning start. The JackJumpers were looking to rectify this disappointment against the Cairns Taipans.

They started strong with an early 11-2 run and McIntosh helping them maintain their lead after the Taipans started to close the gap by the end of the first quarter. Six points in a row from Clint Steindl and Tasmania catching fire from beyond the arc saw them then amass a double-digit lead.

Cairns started following suit from three-point territory and twice in the third quarter made it a single-possession game, only for McIntosh to halt to Taipans' scoring streaks. Tasmania drew fouls and opened the fourth quarter with a trio of threes, then took over in the low post, ensuring there was no way back for Cairns and the only way forward was a win for the JackJumpers.

Off the bench, McIntosh scored twelve points in just fifteen minutes, a great showing for the Canadian, one of five Tasmania players to finish in double digits. Josh Adams was the leading scorer for the victors with fifteen points, while Stephen Zimmerman had one point more for the Taipans. All big contributions in a historic night in Tasmania, the new NBL franchise picking up their first win 81-66.

The first win is in the books for the JackJumpers, but more will have to come from them moving on. For more, head over to the official NBL website.

Picture Credit: Steve Bell