Cairns Taipans centre Marcus Lee has come back to haunt his former club Melbourne United with two clutch moments in his side’s shock 93-92 win at Red Energy Arena in Bendigo on Wednesday night.
With scores level in the dying seconds, Lee produced a huge block to deny United big man Jesse Edwards at the rim before sealing a rare Taipans victory from the free throw line.
Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
United import Milton Doyle had a chance to win the game at the death, but his contested mid-range shot missed and the Taipans saluted for the upset of the NBL season.
United’s woes have continued with a seventh loss in nine games.
The home side had beaten the Taipans by a whopping 35 and 27 points in their previous two meetings, but they are so out of form that not even a win over the lowly Taipans is not a fait accompli in the new year.
When United led by nine in the third quarter, it seemed like the Taipans spirit was broken, but they refused to go away, even overcoming the loss of import Admiral Schofield late in the third, who picked up a fifth foul with an inexplicable technical for his protest over a referee’s decision.
Taipans import combo guard Andrew Andrews was the star of the show.
Andrews was pulling the strings from the outset with 13 points and 13 assists in arguably his best performance of the season
The 32-year-old American turned from primary distributor in the first half to a potent weapon on the offensive end in the second half.
Triple threat
Taipans forward Jack McVeigh loves nothing more than to bring his best to a United contest.
McVeigh, who two seasons ago steered the Tasmania JackJumpers to a grand final triumph over United, was at it again with 20 points on 7/11 shooting and nine rebounds.
Sam Waardenburg made it a Taipans triple threat.
The forward produced a commanding 20 points on 7/9 shooting with nine rebounds.
The Taipans win was against the odds as they were out-rebounded 39-33 and committed seven more turnovers.
But United could not make them pay, shooting a dismal 8/33 (24%) from the three-point arc.
United was dominant on the boards with 17 offensive rebounds, but continued to misfire.
The return to form of veteran Chris Goulding was the bright spot for United, who are in freefall and have lost touch with top two sides Adelaide 36ers and South East Melbourne Phoenix.
Goulding, who has battled form and health issues, produced a season-high 27 points on 8/15 shooting, including five three-pointers.
The Taipans snapped a four-game losing streak.
Hot start
Taipans coach Adam Forde was pumped as his side slithered to their highest first quarter score of the season to lead 29-22.
Andrews set the tone with five first period assists and the athletic Kyrin Galloway was on fire with eight first quarter points, including two threes as part of his side’s 4/6 return from the three-point line.
United could not have asked for a worse start.
Centre Jesse Edwards had to walk the referee’s tightrope with two needless offensive fouls in the first five minutes and he never recovered.
Hometown hero
Next Star Dash Daniels tried to impose himself on the contest, along with a number of defence-minded United subs.
The boy from Bendigo drew applause from the local fans when he forced Andrews into a rare error before he aggressively pursued a basket and caught Taipans forward Sam Waardenburg in the ribs, leaving him winded on the floor.
There was no panic in the United camp.
A 13-2 run at the start of the second quarter had the hosts in front in three whirlwind minutes.
With Galloway, Waardenburg and Andrew dominant, the Taipans wouldn’t go away, trailing by just two at half time and an upset was not out of the realm of possibility.
United went on a 7-0 blitz to start the third quarter to take control as sharpshooter Goulding started to heat up.
But McVeigh had all the answers in the second half and eventually the Taipans found a way.
NBL SCOREBOARD
Melbourne United 92 (Goulding 27 Doyle 15 Delany 14) lt Cairns Taipans 93 (McVeigh 20 Waardenburg 20 Andrews 13)
At Red Energy Arena, Bendigo.
Discussion about this post