'Tired' Cotton EXPLODES for 53 to bite Taipans

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Adelaide 36ers star Bryce Cotton's stellar 53-point performance propelled the visitors to victory despite a late Taipans surge to win 91-86 at Cairns Convention Centre in Round 5 of NBL26.

Cotton, 33, delivered the second most points in the 40-minute era. Unsurprisingly, Cotton holds the record with 59 points for the Perth Wildcats against the New Zealand Breakers in NBL25.

"I was so tired, but I just wanted to win," Cotton said immediately after the game.

"We made some winning plays when we needed it most.

"Cairns did a great job fighting themselves back into the game — right until the final, what, two seconds?

"(I'm) extremely proud. You want to stack as many wins on the road as you can. We felt like we had good control of the game for the majority of it, so it would’ve sucked to let this one slip."

Cotton was perfect from the line, shooting 16-of-16 while dropping 16-from-29 from the field including 5-from-13 threes. He also had five assists and a steal. He was +10 in 38 minutes. It was the 11th time Cotton has scored 40 points or more in the 40-minute era and his second 50-piece.

"I’m just happy we won," Cotton said at the post game press conference with head coach Mike Wells by his side.

"Me and Mike have talked — through the season you get ups and downs. Sometimes a team beats you like Sydney did and you had no chance. But the ones that sting are when you control it and let it slip.

"That would’ve been one of those games. We controlled it most of the way, and Cairns did a hell of a job clawing back. That would’ve really stung to drop something like this on the road."

36ers centre Isaac Humphries, who has started NBL26 making a major impact on the offensive side of ball, had his hands full with the Taipans Marcus Lee and Kyrin Galloway. He finished with eight points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.

"It was a different look — they really flooded the paint, trying to get more length and athleticism out there," Wells said.

"The paint was clogged — just like my ears. When Bryce is shooting like that, the roller wasn’t there, but they had a plan to take that away, which opened up something else. That’s the sign of a good team — figuring out what the defence gives you and finding what’s going to work that night.

"We had some big shots from Flynn (Cameron), big free throws from (Zylan Cheatham) at the end. He didn’t have much going but made clutch ones.

"Flynn’s eight rebounds and DJ’s six were huge — when guards rebound like that, it’s a big deal. Everyone was fighting for those boards."

The Taipans were without star signing Jack McVeigh, who has been ruled out with a wrist injury.

Bryce Cotton (Adelaide 36ers 5-1) vs Cairns Taipans (2-5) Box Score‍

• MIN: 38:23 I PTS: 53 I FGM: 16 I FGA: 29 I FG%: 55.2 I 3PM: 5 I 3PA: 13 I 3P%: 38.5 I FTM: 16 I FTA: 16 I FT%: 100 I OR: 1 I DR: 1 I REB: 2 I AST: 5 I TO: 1 I STL: 1 I BLK: 0 I PF: 1 I +/-: 10 I EFF: 47

Bryce Cotton's 40-piece NBL career

1. Oct 18, 2025 @ Cairns Taipans — 53 PTS (W 91-86)
2. Dec 1, 2024 vs NZ Breakers — 59 PTS (W 123-112)
3. Dec 8, 2024 @ Adelaide 36ers — 49 PTS (W 115-105)
4. Feb 7, 2025 vs Adelaide 36ers — 49 PTS (W 112-104)
5. Dec 14, 2024 @ Cairns Taipans — 44 PTS (W 128-92)
6. Jan 5, 2025 @ NZ Breakers — 41 PTS (W 96-86)
7. Dec 6, 2024 vs Illawarra Hawks — 40 PTS (L 111-121)
8. Dec 1, 2023 vs Sydney Kings — 41 PTS (W 114-105)
9. Jan 27, 2023 vs Illawarra Hawks — 40 PTS (W 106-86)
10. Feb 28, 2020 vs Cairns Taipans — 42 PTS (W 108-107, CS1)
11. Mar 5, 2017 vs Illawarra Hawks — 45 PTS (W 95-86, CS3)

Key Details

• Result: Adelaide 36ers 91 def. Cairns Taipans 86
• When: 18th October 2025
• Where: Cairns Convention Centre, Cairns
• Standings:

By the Numbers

• Bryce Cotton (Adelaide 36ers) starred with 53 points, two rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 38 minutes.
• Andrew Andrews (Cairns Taipans) scored 23 points, and had two rebounds, seven assists in 36 minutes.

What Happened

The 36ers established control early and maintained it for most of the game, leading for nearly 37 minutes compared to Cairns' brief two-minute advantage. Adelaide built a 14-point lead at one stage, weathering several Taipans comeback attempts to secure the five-point victory on the road.

Cotton's exceptional performance included a highly efficient 16-from-29 from the field and a perfect 16-from-16 from the free throw line. The 36ers guard was particularly effective from beyond the arc, connecting on five threes.

For the Taipans, Andrews' 23-point effort was supported by Admiral Schofield (18 points, nine rebounds, five assists) and Reyne Smith (17 points including four three-pointers). Marcus Lee provided solid production off the bench with 14 points on 7-from-8 shooting and six rebounds in 25 minutes.

The free throw disparity proved decisive in the final margin, with Adelaide connecting on 21-from-24 (87.5%) compared to Cairns' 7-from-14 (50%). The Taipans struggled to contain Cotton without fouling, sending him to the line 16 times while the entire Cairns team attempted just 14 free throws collectively.

Despite winning the rebounding battle 44-41 and recording more assists (20-14), the Taipans couldn't overcome Cotton's individual brilliance. Adelaide's defense was anchored by Isaac Humphries, who registered three steals and one block, helping to force seven Taipans turnovers while committing just four of their own.

Q4 summary — Adelaide 36ers 91 def. Cairns Taipans 86

Adelaide began the fourth up 64–57 and repeatedly kept Cairns at arm’s length behind Bryce Cotton’s shot-making and foul drawing. The Taipans surged late: Kyrin Galloway (9:30), Reyne Smith (8:01) and Admiral Schofield (1:07) buried threes, and Marcus Lee scored at 6:11 to trim it to 71–69 and later 80–81 with 1:07 left.

Cotton steadied the 36ers with a pull-up 3 (9:10), a step-back 2 (5:54), a floater (0:49) and a parade to the line. A chaotic 0:22 sequence – including two technicals on Andrew Andrews and a separate foul – gave Cotton extra free throws; he and Zylan Cheatham (2/2 at 0:09) pushed it to 89–83. Smith drilled another triple (0:03) to make it 89–86, but Cotton drew a foul on the inbounds and iced it at the stripe (0:03, 2/2). A final Cairns turnover and Isaac Humphries steal sealed the 91–86 result.