Match Recap: NBL24 Preseason v Tasmania JackJumpers

A shorthanded Melbourne United squad has gone down to the Tasmania JackJumpers on the road by 16 points.

Sporting a lineup full of Development Players and training players, all eyes were on Melbourne’s few fully rostered stars taking the court.

Ariel Hukporti looked to establish his presence early, scoring United’s first four points around the hoop before Brad Newley got involved, adding points from the free-throw line.

It was a bit of a struggle throughout the rest of the term for the visitors, however 20-year-old training player Tom Koppens made his mark on the contest, doing a bit of everything to wrestle back some momentum. He scored four points, while adding an assist, block and rebound.

This, combined with a buzzer-beating steal and score from DP Campbell Blogg reduced the gap to 15 points to close the opening quarter.

After going without a made triple in the first period, Blogg took it upon himself to change that at the start of the second.

The 19-year-old cashed in back-to-back threes to bring his total to 10 points, while Hukporti patrolled the hoop on defence.

The towering Next Star came away with a pair of blocks before getting himself back on the score sheet with a nice post move.

Buckets from Newley, Kyle Bowen and KJ Feagin kept United’s score ticking along, keeping the margin at 17 points heading into the major break.

Coming out of half time, Campbell Blogg continued to showcase his range, knocking down a deep triple on United’s first possession.

With Blogg stretching the floor, opportunities opened up for the likes of Zac Triplet, Newley and Koppens, who all got to the hoop and scored.

While Melbourne’s offence was beginning to look confident, turnovers halted their momentum. At the close of the third quarter, MU had given the ball away 14 times, allowing the JJs to pull ahead by 20 points leading into the final 10 minutes of action.

It was a defensive showcase to start the fourth for United, with Hukporti and Malith Machar each coming up with big-time blocks.

While it was a more muted outing offensively for the Next Star, Hukporti’s rim protection (three blocks) and rebounding (13 rebounds) were tremendous.

While Tasmania had all but wrapped up the victory with five minutes to go, Melbourne’s young stars never stopped playing, going on a run down the stretch to ultimately reduce the margin to 16 points come the final whistle.

Blogg led all scorers for United with 18, while Koppens contributed 13 points off the bench.

Melbourne will next face the JackJumpers on Wednesday evening from 6:30pm.