Hall stands out as Taipans go down to Kings

WING Devon Hall starred in the Cairns Taipans NBL Blitz loss to the Sydney Kings on Thursday night.

The big-spending Kings, with NBA champion Andrew Bogut in their squad, were on top for much of the contest to hold on and win, 75-60.

Big man Nate Jawai (foot) missed the game as did Dexter Kernich-Drew (calf).

Ten first term points from former league MVP Jerome Randle handed Sydney a 22-19 lead after one quarter.

Both clubs battled to put the ball in the basket in the second term as the Kings held a fourpoint advantage at the long break with import Hall landing 14 first-half points.

The left-handed Hall was the standout for the men in orange, nailing two triples early on, hitting the glass as well as generally being aggressive on the offensive end.

Cairns evened the scores late in the third term before the Kings kicked away approaching the final change and into the fourth quarter.

Hall, in his first season out of college, collected 20 points on 8-16 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds.

Hall’s import mates Melo Trimble and DJ Newbill had poor shooting nights.

“They are a plucky side Cairns . . . they are going to be a good side this year,” veteran King Brad Newley said after the game. “They have some nice young imports.”

The Far North club face finalists from last season New Zealand and Perth across the weekend.