The American guard dropped in 41 points to guide the Nelson Giants to a 89-86 overtime win against the Otago Nuggets at the Edgar Centre on Saturday night.
The southpaw was able to shake his defenders a little too easily in the opening half.
He had poured in 20 points by halftime to help his side build a 14-point lead.
But Geremy McKay (21 points) kept hustling and helped the home side claw its way back into the encounter.
Richie Rodger knocked down a couple of big three-pointers and Isaiah Moss (21 points) hit a clutch three-pointer late in regulation time to send the game into overtime.
He was called on again at the end of the extra period to make another save but the shot drifted wide.
It would have been cruel, though, had Hale found himself in the losing side having played so well.
He has so much pace and used it to slip by defenders and get to the hoop. He also landed six of his 13 three-point attempts.
Nuggets coach Brent Matehaere was thrilled with the fight the team showed. But the opening quarter was poor.
"I think we were probably snatching at a few things and that really set the tone for the Giants," he said.
It was like the hoop had shrunk, the ball was made of lead or gravity had somehow suddenly doubled and then returned to normal when the Giants had the ball.
The Nuggets missed open looks, got in each other’s way, slipped off defensive assignments and earned every one of the 14 points they trailed by at halftime.
Hale had no problem threading the ball through those hoops the Nuggets were finding too much of a squeeze.
Nicolas Trathen hit some clutch shots as well. The Nuggets might have got a few more stops had he not drilled a couple of three-pointers late in the count.
Signs the Nuggets would claw their way back into the fixture were not obvious early in the third quarter.
The shots still would not drop, the passes would not stick and Hale sank another three-pointer.
But the game’s favour can be awfully fickle. And the Nuggets started slicing into the visiting team’s lead.
Rodger hit a brace of three-pointers. McKay muscled an offensive board and popped it in the basket. Hale’s attempt to beat the shot clock bobbled out for a change.
Sam Timmins got around an opponent for a reverse lay-up and the game was back in the balance.
Moss, who had a quiet game by his standards, nailed a tough shot to secure his side a second chance in overtime.
"It was a great fight," Matehaere said.
"I think it was a great spectacle of basketball and we came out on the wrong side of it.
"I asked the boys to empty the tank and they certainly did."
Essentially, the Giants did a much better job defending Moss than the Nuggets could manage on Hale.
"We let him get a lot of mid-range twos but adjusted our defence after that and that is what got us back in the game.
"We were down seven or eight with a few minutes to go and we got three or four stops in a row and that gave us a chance really."
