The Tasmania JackJumpers have produced the best defensive performance against the league-leading Adelaide 36ers this season to send a message to the NBL with an 80-72 road victory.
The 36ers were back home on Friday night in front of another sold-out Adelaide Entertainment Centre crowd on a five-game winning streak to be clear in top spot, but momentum has been building with the JackJumpers.
After six games in 14 days, they also had time to freshen up ahead of the trip to Adelaide.
They put the clamps on the 36ers to hold them to their lowest second quarter (11 points), first half (27) and overall score (72) of the season.
In the second quarter alone, not only did the JackJumpers hold the 36ers to 11 points, but they went into halftime on a 20-4 scoring run after holding Adelaide to zero free-throw attempts the entire opening half.
The JackJumpers' lead got out to 16 points early in the third quarter, and they were still up by eight with 1:30 to play, but the 36ers kept on coming and Flynn Cameron led their charge to score eight straight points.
That had them back within four in the last minute, but Bryce Cotton and Zylan Cheatham missed chances to make it a one possession game, with Tasmania holding them out for the statement eight-point win.
The JackJumpers (12-13) remain solid in sixth place, with Hamilton outstanding with 16 points and some key defensive plays, including a late block on Troy Brown Jr.
Nick Marshall was tremendous defensively on Cotton and ended up with 13 points and six rebounds.
David Johnson contributed 12 points for the JackJumpers, Tyger Campbell 11, Ben Ayre 10, Josh Bannan eight and Will Magnay eight despite fouling out.
JackJumpers coach Scott Roth likes the direction his team is heading.
"We're kinda heading in the right direction in some areas, and our defence work rate tonight was really, really good across the board," he said.
"And we were quite disciplined in some other areas, so we're just continuing to try and build, and stack days, and this is a good win on the road."
It was a tough night for five-time MVP Cotton, the Adelaide star going 5-of-18 from the field for 15 points with five assists, while Cameron continued his career-best form with another 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
For a team with such firepower, Cameron didn't get enough support, with Cheatham (12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists) the only other Adelaide player to score in double figures.
Sixers coach Mike Wells paid credit to Tasmania's defence, but lamented Adelaide's struggles to earn trips to the foul line.
"We won three quarters, we didn't have a free throw in the first half and we had 13 in the third, and then we had two in the fourth and end up with 15," he said.
"We had a five-minute stretch of the second quarter that we were outscored 15-2, and I give them (Tasmania) a ton of credit, they're well coached and a good, physical team."
