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THERE was just not much more Bryce Hamilton could have done to get Tasmania across the line against South East Melbourne last night in its jinxed Silverdome venue in Launceston, after Adelaide earlier outlasted New Zealand at their equally parlous "home" venue in Christchurch.

The Phoenix's thrilling 103-102 win marked the eighth time the JackJumpers have lost at the Silverdome in 10 NBL matches at the venue.

But this could have gone either way, right up to the final 0.1 of a second when a Jackies' inbounds pass for a prayer went unanswered, Nathan Sobey, John Brown and Owen Foxwell leading South East to victory, Malique Lewis playing his best game yet for the Phoenix.

Lewis had proceedings underway with three 3-point swishes in the first quarter, en route to a career-best 23 points at 82 per cent, including 5-of-7 threes.

In what started as a shoot-out and continued unabated that way to a record halftime score of 61-60 - remember Tasmania scored just 69 for the game last round against Cairns! - it was Hamilton carrying the island on his back.

His career-high 36 points came at 70 per cent, including 4-of-7 threes, eight defensive boards, five assists and a steal.

He largely was responsible for the scoreboard ticking over, Tyger Campbell aggressive early, Majok Deng active and Josh Bannan on his way to a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Ben Ayre was his usual feisty self but Will Magnay well subdued for his quietest game of the season.

Whether that was the defensive presence and influence of John Brown (10 points, 14 rebounds, 8 offensive, two assists, four steals) or just the relentless pace of the game, eventually Tasmania ran out of consistent helpers for Hamilton to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

And it's not as if the JackJumpers didn't have their chances, Magnay aborting a fast-break, Deng missing a putback dunk on the same play. Foxwell tied it from the stripe at 93-93, then nailed a big three for the Phoenix to lead.

Sobey (28 points at 57 per cent, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 4 assists but 6 turnovers) completed a three-point play from the FT line and at 99-93, the Phoenix looked home. Inside the final minute, Sobey free throws made it 103-96 before all hell broke loose.

Bannan scored from a Deng steal, then Wes Iwundu coughed up the ball and Bannan fed Hamilton on the break. Suddenly it was 100-103, a solid half minute to go.

A Foxwell turnover meant Hamilton pruned it back to 102-103 before Sobey threw a wild pass which left Tasmania enough time to call time and run a last play for the win.

Hamilton was the man for the job but bringing the ball up made him obiged to pass, Ayre open in the corner. Unfortunately for Tassie, his shot for the win didn't drop and their last play at 0.1 seconds was insufficient to fashion a miracle.

In Christchurch, Sam Mennenga (7 points, 2-of-12 shooting, 6 boards, one assist, two blocks in 33 minutes) had his worst outing of the season, but with Izaiah Brockington going for a career-best 25 points, New Zealand gave Adelaide more trouble than it may have expected.

The 36ers led by 10 during the first quarter but again, players such as Dejan Vasiljevic went to the bench early to accommodate substitutes such as Isaac White, Matt Kenyon and Michael Harris.

White (12 points, 4 assists) had his best game as a 36er but it was Nick Rakocevic who had the offence moving. With a previous career-high of 8, Rakocevic had nine points in the first term, no Breaker with an answer for him.

But it was Brockington who stamped his mark all over the second period and just before halftime, the Breakers were 47-40 ahead until fouling Bryce Cotton (23 points, 6 assists) taking a three.

New Zealand still led 68-66 with a period to play but two major factors occurred in the last. The first was the 36ers played some of their best defence of the season, keeping the Breakers without a basket until inside the game's final two minutes.

It also inexplicably became the Parker Jackson-Cartwright show, the superstar guard choosing too many poor options as New Zealand's desperation grew.

Adelaide was comfortable at 78-70 ahead, the Breakers twice scoring one of two free throws before Rob Baker finally threw down a dunlk at 1:50 left for their first basket of the quarter.

Brockington and PJC dragged the deficit back to two at 78-80 before Flynn Cameron (13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists) stuck a free throw for the 36ers.

Zylan Cheatham (13 points, 8 rebounds) had the lead back to four at 83-79 and effectively Adelaide had collected a quality road win.

Round 8

Illawarra Hawks 107 (McGee 37, Hickey 18, Harvey 17, Swaka Lo Buluk 14, Peterson 11, Peatling 10; McGee 14 rebs; Peterson, Hickey 7 assts) d Melbourne United 93 (Delany 21, Edwards 19, Doyle 16, Walker 14; Krslovic, Edwards 6 rebs; Doyle 11 assts) at The Sandpit, WIN Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 3,012 Q-Q: 32-22, 25-21, 22-25, 28-25. Ignite Cup Pts: Illawarra 6, Melbourne 1

Adelaide 36ers 83 (Cotton 23, Cameron, Cheatham 13, White 12; Cameron, Cheatham 8 rebs; Cotton 6 assts) d New Zealand Breakers 79 (Brockington 25, Jackson-Cartwright 21, Lopez 11; Baker 9 rebs; Jackson-Cartwright 10 assts) at The Breakwater, Wolfbrook Arena, Christchurch. Crowd: 3,859

South East Melbourne Phoenix 103 (Sobey 28, Lewis 23, Foxwell 15, Iwundu 11, Brown 10; Brown 14 rebs; Foxwell, Lewis, Sobey 4 assts) d Tasmania JackJumpers 102 (Hamilton 36, Deng 17, Bannan 15; Bannan 10 rebs; Hamilton 5 assts) at the SilverJinx, Launceston, Crowd: N/a