Taipans fall short in Adelaide nail-biter

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The Cairns Taipans were outplayed by the Adelaide 36ers on Friday, losing the close contest 78-75.

The Snakes dominated the opening half, building a lead of 19 points in the second quarter.

They were in control for most of the game, but the 36ers took the lead in the final minute and held on for the three-point win.

The Taipans began the final quarter by pushing their lead out to 11 points, but Adelaide finished strongly, converting solid defence into attacking opportunities.

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Adelaide sealed the win from free throws with just seconds left, a frustrating result for the Taipans after being in such a strong position.

Tahjere McCall finished with 24 points, Keanu Pinder added 12, Sam Waardenburg got eight, and DJ Hogg finished with seven points.

But the Taipans gave 18 turnovers, while Adelaide made 17 offensive rebounds for 14 second-chance points.

Taipans coach, Adam Forde, said those rebounds were costly.

“There was more effort applied from them and credit to them.

“Adelaide weren’t shooting particularly well, like us, but they did a good job generating turnovers and leading out to their own attack breaks.

“Guys like Hyrum Harris came off the bench and just crashed the rebounds and were beating us up with the hustle effort.

“Unfortunately, that was really telling throughout the game.

“That was one we had, sure, but Adelaide did a fantastic job bringing themselves back into it."

Taipans forward, Sam Waardenburg, said Adelaide had been able to dominate the game.

"I think it was just their hustle. They dominated us on the boards, and we came out in that second half just getting dominated.

“This is adversity that we are going to have to look back at and get better from.

“If we are going to be a great team, we have to adapt to that adversity and come out better from it."

The Taipans are at home to the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday 10 December.