Tasmania were coming off losses to the South East Melbourne Phoenix and the New Zealand Breakers, and they were seeking to avoid a third consecutive home setback against a Snakes squad that had just defeated league leaders Melbourne United.

By the end of the first quarter, the JackJumpers had a 29-20 lead owing to late three-pointers from Sean MacDonald (12 points) and Lachlan Barker.

Tasmania led 51-41 at halftime, with Doyle back in form with 12 first-half points, while the squad shot 56% from the field to the Taipans’ 41.

The home team blasted the game wide open in the third period, going on a 20-5 scoring run that extended the score to 24.

Despite a brief scare in the fourth quarter with Taran Armstrong (18 points, seven rebounds, four assists) leading the Taipans, the JackJumpers scored nine straight baskets, with a couple of dunks from the returning Will Magnay (nine points, four rebounds, three assists) providing the finishing touch.

The win moves Tasmania to 11-9, good for third place, with Doyle contributing 31 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

Marcus Lee scored 16 points, Anthony Drmic added 11 points and eight rebounds, while Jordon Crawford contributed nine points and seven assists.

JackJumpers coach Scott Roth welcomed the improving signals, but he is far from satisfied.

“I’m not satisfied and they shouldn’t be either,” Roth went on to say.

“We have a lot of areas to expand in, and it will take everyone working hard to get to some of them.

“More significantly for us, it’s about having the mental discipline to follow through on some things, as well as staying steady in the situation and remaining focused.

“We tend to let things snowball, and when we have consistent production and work pace, we may be challenging to work with.

“Those areas continue to be an emphasis for us of what we need to clean up and I do feel that when we’re on those area and those points, we’re a handful for everyone in the league to deal with.”

Cairns is just outside the top six at 9-12. Along with Armstrong’s career-best performance, Tahjere McCall finished with 20 points and six assists, Next Star Bobi Klintman had 16 points and five rebounds, and Sam Mennenga had nine points and eight rebounds.

After hurting a finger early, in-form guard Patrick Miller had only four points, four turnovers, and shot 2-of-11 on the night.

Taipans coach Adam Forde was at least pleased with the fourth-quarter fight.

“I asked for a bit of a gut check by the guys at one point when we were down 24 and that’s the positive, I guess, that they provided that,” he told reporters.

“It was a true character moment, and while we’re still talking about a 17-point loss, we made a decent run at it.

“There’s a lot of things we need to work on, though, if we’re going to give ourselves a chance to compete.”