What defines "the Jackie way"

Call it a culture, call it a vibe, call it a way – there’s something about the Tasmania JackJumpers when their backs are against the wall, and Damon Lowery has praised the fans at MyState Bank Arena for surging their team along in Monday night’s Playoff win over Perth.

Tasmania found itself down double-digits in the first quarter, and trailed by five points at half-time, but a combination of Milton Doyle and Majok Deng’s scoring – and Sean Macdonald’s defence – in the second half, pushed the JackJumpers to victory off of the platform set by Jack McVeigh in the first.

Yet another sold-out MyState Bank Arena crowd was in full voice in the win, and Lowery says they set the bedrock of Tasmania’s on-court toughness.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘culture’ because it’s overused, but they have a way – The Jackie Way,” Lowery said on the Coca-Cola Cool Down.

“It’s what they do, they don’t care, they go ‘we are going to go out in a blaze of glory in full defence of this island. This crowd, just to see how people turn up and how they act, you can’t play less than what they’re giving you.

“That’s what they do, they don’t quit on anything, and Scott Roth could sub in anybody he wants, they’re going to play the right way. Whether a shot’s made or not they don’t let that influence how they play.

“They just wore down the Perth Wildcats, the ground them down into a fine powder in stretches that did enough to get them the win.”

While Deng and Macdonald are each earning justified praise for their starring roles on both ends of the floor in the win, a remarkable third quarter from Milton Doyle set the barometer for Tasmania’s second half, and the JackJumpers followed their star player’s example.

Doyle was named Foot Locker Player of the Game for his 24 points, but Liam Santamaria says the way he lit up the third term gave the JackJumpers an added element of belief.

“Milton Doyle’s third quarter, 15 points in the third term and it looked like maybe it was going to get away from them, they were trailing by double-digits early and were down by five at half-time, and they needed that from Doyle,” Santamaria said.

“They needed to see their star in the third quarter and I think everyone puffed their chest out when they saw Doyle doing that.

“Majok Deng, 18 points off the bench – and it wasn’t just the scoring either – he played tough at both ends, he came up with big plays on the offensive glass and the defensive end, and for a guy that’s barely played for a long time to step in for the absence of Marcus Lee, he played about seven minutes in the center spot.

“Majok Deng, very impressive.”

Game 3 of the series between Tasmania and Perth will tip off on Wednesday night at 9:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.