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JackJumpers beat Breakers to top NBL table
Steve Barrett, AAP •  October 18th, 2026 7:40 pm
Taran Armstrong has top-scored for ladder-leading Tasmania in their tight win over the Breakers | Photo: Chris Kidd/AAP
Taran Armstrong's career-best performance has rocketed Tasmania to top spot on the NBL ladder with a 98-92 victory over the New Zealand Breakers.
Burnie-born Armstrong scored 13 of his 32 points in a commanding fourth quarter at Hobart's MyState Bank Arena on Sunday.
Import David Johnson added 20 off the bench for the JackJumpers, who capped a bumper few days for the Apple Isle, following the Tasmania Jewels' successful WNBL debut on Thursday.
Big Sam Mennenga posted 36 points - including 23 in the first half - and 11 boards for the Breakers.
Sam Mennenga was hot with the ball, registering a double-double for the visitors in Hobart | Photo: Chris Kidd/AAP
Fellow Kiwis Mojave King (18 points) and Carlin Davison (17 points, 11 assists) also stood out for NZ.
Mennenga was a powerhouse from the tip, dominating fellow centre and MVP contender Will Magnay to pour in 18 first-quarter points without a miss.
His three-point play in the last second of a high-quality opening term gave the visitors a 32-31 edge.
Led by Mennenga, the Breakers shot 13-of-18 for the term, including four-of-five from three-point range.
Davison's thunderous slam, in which he blew past Nick Marshall and put Ben Gold on a poster, was the highlight of an equally hard-fought second period.
He had nine assists by the long break, but it was the JackJumpers who inched ahead 53-51 when Gold produced a desperate steal and lay-up on the halftime horn.
NZ's shooting remained slick, but turnovers were becoming a problem, as was offensive rebounding.
Marshall's tip-in on the three-quarter time siren saw Tasmania go ahead 16-4 on the offensive glass and 70-65 on the scoreboard.
A 7-0 rush early in the fourth - highlighted by Davison's 10th assist, a slick behind-the-back pass to Mennenga - saw the Breakers creep back in front.
A costly flagrant foul against Dejan Vaselkevic on Magnay, combined with a string of heads-up plays from Armstrong, put the Jackies back in the driver's seat in the fourth.
