Nick Marshall spearheaded a long-range barrage as Tasmania took a huge step towards the NBL post-season with a record-breaking 114-70 thrashing of Brisbane.
Marshall scored a career-high 31 points on 12-of-13 shooting in the one-sided affair at MyState Bank Arena on Friday night.
The red-hot swingman drained 7-of-8 threes in the JackJumpers’ tally of 16, as they registered the highest team total and biggest winning margin in club history.
Nick Marshall of the JackJumpers Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images
“Once that first one kind of went in and the second one went in, it was just ‘keep shooting them’,” Marshall said.
“My teammates found me, so it was good out there. It was fun.”
Key pair Josh Bannan (18 points) and Tyger Campbell (15) also starred in the demolition job.
It gave Tasmania a 14-17 record in sixth place, all but locking away the final spot in the play-in tournament ahead of Illawarra (11-18) and New Zealand (11-19).
Decimated by injuries this season, last-placed Brisbane (6-24) suffered further blows when they lost Alex Ducas (achilles) and Tristan Devers (ankle) before halftime.
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Marshall exploded early with 17 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting in the first quarter, including five threes, to steer Tasmania to a 33-14 lead.
The JackJumpers posted their highest first-quarter score of the season with nine made threes.
The score ballooned to 57-31 by halftime, with Marshall’s 23 points to that point coming on 9-of-10 shooting.
Tasmania were relentless, riding the momentum in front of a raucous home crowd.
Hunter Maldonado (18 points) and Mitch Norton (17) fought hard against the tide for Brisbane, who were never in the hunt.
