Zylan Cheatham Stars as Adelaide 36ers Defeat Tasmania JackJumpers in Round 9

The Adelaide 36ers bounced back in style on Thursday night, riding a dominant outing from Zylan Cheatham to claim a 97–86 win over the Tasmania JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena.

The result hands Tasmania a fifth straight defeat and sees Adelaide continue their impressive form on the road, improving to five wins from six away games this season.

Cheatham set the tone from the opening minutes and delivered his best game of NBL26. He poured in 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting, pulled down 14 rebounds, added four assists and two blocks, and knocked in three of his four attempts from long range.

He had 16 points by half-time as Adelaide built a 14-point lead that grew to as much as 28. The JackJumpers kept fighting, and a late surge cut the margin to seven, but Adelaide steadied in the closing minutes to secure the result.

DJ Vasiljevic, who came off the bench after losing his starting spot to Matt Kenyon, added 14 points, including an 11-point burst late in the third term. Kenyon justified the lineup change by locking down Tasmania’s leading scorer, Bryce Hamilton, who managed just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

Bryce Cotton battled through tight defence to finish with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists but shot just 2-of-10. Adelaide’s balance was a strength with six players reaching double figures, including Flynn Cameron (11 points), Nick Rakocevic (11 points, seven rebounds) and Isaac Humphries (10 points, six rebounds, four blocks).

Tasmania, missing Will Magnay, Anthony Drmic and David Johnson, struggled early but found rhythm late. Tyger Campbell led the way with 20 points and 4-of-6 shooting from deep. Majok Deng added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Josh Bannan produced another big night with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Nick Marshall had 12 points, six boards and four assists.

But they had no answer for Cheatham, who pushed Adelaide ahead with a pair of key threes before quarter-time, sparking a 10–0 run.

The JackJumpers saw both Bannan and Ben Ayre foul out late, yet continued to cut into the margin before running out of time.

Tasmania now heads west to face the Perth Wildcats next Friday night, while Adelaide returns home to take on the Cairns Taipans on Sunday.

Final score: Tasmania JackJumpers 86 defeated by Adelaide 36ers 97.