GREAT ESCAPE
www.cairnspost.com.au JACOB GRAMS THE Taipans have exorcised their fourth quarter demons to escape with a 65-63 win despite a slow start against the New Zealand Breakers in Cairns last night.
Mitch McCarron came of age with a haul of 11 points in the final period as the Snakes fought back from five points down at the end of the third quarter to climb off the bottom of the NBL ladder.
Without key man Mark Worthington for the first time in 45 matches, skipper Cam Gliddon was as strong as ever with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists while McCarron finished the game with an outstanding 14 points, six rebounds and three assists.
In what looked like a battle for the wooden spoon from the outset, the home side could not buy a basket in the first quarter, hitting just one of their first eight shots and conceding two shot clock violations as the offence failed to click.
Fortunately the Snakes kept up the pressure on the defensive end and fought back level pegging at 11-all after NZ held an early six-point lead.
The Taipans stayed in the contest despite falling behind the Breakers in every key statistic including on the scoreboard, down by as many as seven before going into the main break with only a two-point deficit.
Cairns appeared to find some rhythm in the third quarter as they forced the Breakers into turnovers, but the visitors skipped away to a five-point lead.
The momentum swung in the last as the Taipans took the lead with just under six minutes remaining, setting the scene for another grandstand finish.
The crowd lifted to bring the Taipans home, although Breakers centre Rob Loe sent a scare through fans when he put up a thee-point buzzer beater that just fell short.
Cairns now have a week to prepare for an away trip to play Melbourne United next Saturday night.