Basketball On The Internet.

FOR many, the letters "BC" conjure a religious connotation. For those of us who embrace basketball as our religion, BC means only one of two things, and they are intertwined - Bryce Cotton and Best Closer. The little master did it again last night to end Tasmania's unbeaten home run.

Cotton led Adelaide into the final quarter with 27 points but inside the game's final two minutes after former 36ers guard and JackJumpers starter Nick Marshall tied it up with a triple at 82-82, it was time for the six-time league MVP to step forward.

First he swished a contested 3-pointer, Zylan Cheatham made Will Magnay miss at the other end and on the resultant 36ers' forward foray, Cotton fooled everyone by driving the ball to the hoop for an easy two.

Down 82-87, Tassie called time-out but Taran Armstrong missed his shot on the JJ's next play and Adelaide marched forward again.

This time slick ball movement resulted in Jackies import David Johnson shrinking too far off Cotton at the top of the key. Keanu Rasmussen in the corner spotted the mistake and once Cotton had the ball, it was another 3-pointer for a 90-82 lead he singlehandedly created.

Best Closer?

You bet.

Cotton went from 27 points to 35 inside a minute, sealing a game Adelaide had no right to expect to win. With coach Trevor Gleeson absent due to a family commitment and exuberant Serbian assistant Marko Marinovic stepping up into the role, anything could have happened.

Tasmania was fast out of the blocks and led by as many as 10 points, Magnay banking a 3-pointer from halfway to close the first period.

But Adelaide started to find and then flex its own muscles in the second, Cheatham producing a double-double with 15 points (at 70 per cent) and 11 rebounds.

Despite ultimately fouling out against the JJ's frontline of Magnay, Josh Bannan and Ben Gold, Nick Rakocevic still compiled 13 points and eight boards.

The 36ers also drew important contributions from Rasmussen (8 points, 4 assists), John Jenkins and Jacob Rigoni, who swished two corner 3-pointers when Adelaide was asserting itself.

For the Ants, Armstrong had a 20-point, 10-assist double, Magnay continued his solid form with 19 points at 78 per cent, six boards, five assists and three blocks, but they had no real answer for Cotton. Frankly, not many teams do.

Round 5 Results, Friday

Adelaide 36ers 94 (Cotton 35, Cheatham 15, Rakocevic, Jenkins 13; Cheatham 11 rebs; Cotton 5 assts) d Tasmania JackJumpers 88 (Armstrong 20, Magnay 19, Mathias 14, Bannan 13, Gold 12; Gold, Bannan 7 rebs; Armstrong 10 assts) at MyState Bank Arena.