Kaimuki used an 18-3 first-half run to shock Punahou 61-47 in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Tournament last night at Radford High School. Kaimuki stuns Punahou
By Jason Kaneshiro and Marc Dixon
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com | mdixon@starbulletin.comKaimuki will play Maui Interscholastic League champion Lahainaluna today in a quarterfinal game at 6 p.m. at Radford. Kamehameha takes on defending state champion Kalaheo at 7:30.
With Punahou guards turning early steals into points and with a height and weight advantage in the post, the Buffanblu jumped out to an early 9-4 lead.
Then the Bulldogs turned it on.
Led by Daniel Tautofi's double-double performance, Kaimuki got things started with back-to-back 3-pointers by Jesse Wong. The two bombs capped off a 16-0 run, which included two buckets by Tautofi and a two-handed dunk by James Davis.
Kaimuki used an attacking offense to negate the Punahou full-court pressure and man-to-man defense.
"We were concerned about their size," said Kaimuki coach Stephen Lee. "We were hoping they'd miss their three and we could crash the boards."
Coach Lee added: "Our big guy was Daniel. I told him earlier, look at (Kalaheo's) D.C. (Daniels) and Ikaika (Alama-Francis), big players come up big in big games."
Urged on by a raucous crowd, Tautofi responded with a 20-point, 11-rebound performance; a personal statement to everyone who watched his Bulldogs lose by 25 points to Castle in the OIA third-place game last week.
"I guess we weren't used to playing on TV, at the Blaisdell," Tautofi said. "We wanted to show that Kaimuki isn't a fluke."
Tautofi, at 6-1, is the Bulldogs biggest body in the playing rotation. Matching up against Punahou's 6-8 John Freese, 6-5 Dane Uperesa and 6-5 Ryan Zabriskie, he had to play much bigger last night.
"I have bigger, older brothers who push me around a lot. I'm used to it," said Tautofi.
After Kaimuki went into halftime with a 10-point lead, the teams played even the rest of the way. Kaimuki was also propelled by Jimmy Miyasaka, who quelled a late Punahou rally with a 22-foot 3-pointer and also beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer at the close of the third quarter.
Kaimuki 10 12 14 25 -- 61 Punahou 9 3 13 22 -- 46 KAIMUKI -- Jesse Wong 13, Tino Caires 0, Daniel Tautofi 20, Faaloloi Maiava Jr. 3, Jimmy Miyasaka 9, Alex Lauriano 6, James Davis 10.
PUNAHOU -- Jason Ching 8, Kynan Pang 10, Jason Sakata 0, Stanley Fisher 0, Drew Monahan 0, Andrew Amigleo 3, Todd LaFountaine 3, John Freese 0, Alex Fergus7 , David Dowsett 2, Derek Turbin 0, Scott Otake 0, Ryan Zabriskie 4, Dane Uperesa 10.
3-point goals -- Kaimuki 4 (Wong 2, Miyasaka 2). Punahou 2 (Ching, Amigleo).
Kamehameha 30, Kealakehe 28Two evenly matched but very different teams met at Radford Gym last night as Kamehameha of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu took on Kealakehe of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation.
In a game of last basket wins, Kamehameha managed to outlast a patient, prodding, methodical opponent and capture a 2-point victory 30-28.
"That was a good team, very disciplined and it surprised us," said Kamehameha coach Darryl Gabriel. "You think of BIIF basketball Hilo, Honokaa -- they get up and down and these guys didn't."
After controlling the opening tip, the Waveriders, the BIIF's second-place team, held the ball for more than two minutes before attempting the game's first shot, a 3-point swish by 6-6 Ely Sather. Setting the early tempo with constant perimeter passing, the Waveriders also controlled the inside defensively. Kamehameha missed its first three shots, two of which were swatted away by 6-4 Marcus Weems and 6-2 Kyle Teves.
"That shocked us, that kind of patience," said Gabriel. "That's Merv (Kealakehe assistant coach Merv Lopes), he had a lot to do with that."
Kamehameha's full-court press defense and attacking, high-energy offense began to take effect in the second quarter. Willie Melemai, who led all scorers with 14 points, scored and was fouled on a beautiful post feed from Nalu Perkins. He converted the ensuing free throw to give the Warriors their first lead at 16-13.
On the ensuing possession, the Warriors press finally induced a turnover leading to a Sean Uyehara dunk. The Waveriders, however, would not go away.
Sporting No. 24 and looking every bit like Tom Chambers in his Seattle SuperSonics days, Sather led his team with 13 points and kept the Big Island boys in the game, all game long. A behind-the-back drive from the right wing answered Uyehara and ended the first-half scoring at 18-15 in favor of the Warriors.
Both teams struggled to score in the third as both teams combined for only 10 points.
The final quarter opened up with Kamehameha holding a one-point advantage. The teams continued to change leads as Melemai and Travis Akuna exchanged baskets. Akuna's second of the quarter, a drop-step into the lane with bodies all over him, gave Kealakehe a 25-24 lead. It would be the last.
Perkins' steal and lay-up reestablished Kamehamaeha's control. Melemai made sure the Warriors maintained it. Melemai scored the Warriors' final two baskets and grabbed a big offensive rebound to give the Warriors the victory, and a pass to the semifinals.
Kamehameha draws another tough opponent today in Kalaheo.
"We'll have to play perfect," said Melemai. "Perfect defense, block out, hustle, everything."
Kamehameha 6 12 4 8 -- 30 Kealakehe 7 8 6 7 -- 28 KAMEHAMEHA -- Christopher Enos 0, Eric Shaver 0, Matthew Perkins 5, Sean Uyehara 7, Caleb Spencer 2, Aaron Kahaloa 2, William Melemai 14.
KEALAKEHE -- Easton Takata 4, Jared Ursua 0, Travis Akuna 7, Marcus Weems 0, Ely Sather 13, Kyle Teves 4.
3-point goals -- Kamehameha 0. Kealakehe 1 (Sather).
Castle 70, Baldwin 60Castle put on a shooting clinic in the first half and survived a Baldwin rally in the second to score a 70-60 victory at Kekuhaupio Gym.
The Knights return to the Kamehameha Schools' campus tonight to face top-seeded Iolani in a quarterfinal game at 7:30.
Castle burned up the nets early in the game to take a 21-point lead into halftime, but had to weather a Baldwin rally to hang on for the win.
Castle guard Ryen Isip led all scorers with 22 points. He paced the first-half barrage, shooting 4-for-6 from the field and making all three of his free throws.
As a team, the Knights made 11 of 20 field-goal attempts, including 5 of 6 3-point shots. They also hit 12 of 13 free throws in the half.
Baldwin turned up its intensity on defense in the third quarter and cut the Castle lead to 45-38 late in the period.
"The second half we just did not run our offense effectively and that was a credit to Baldwin's defense," Castle coach Rocky Fraticelli said. "They picked it up, played hard nosed, took away some of the passing lanes and we struggled."
Brandon Ahonima tried to lead the Bears back into the game, scoring nine of his team-high 17 points in the second half. But Baldwin could get no closer than seven in the fourth quarter.
"If we had played like that we night have been in it and had a chance," Bears coach Wayne Gushiken said. "But we came out flat."
Castle stayed a step ahead in the fourth quarter by hitting 19 of 26 free throws. The teams combined to take 37 free throws in the final period.
Baldwin qualified for the tournament on Monday by beating King Kekaulike in a playoff game for the Maui Interscholastic League's final state tournament berth. But Gushiken didn't blame the quick turnaround for his team's slow start
"You should be naturally pumped to play in a state tournament like this," Gushiken said. "I shouldn't have to say anything to get pumped up for this game."
Castle 18 21 8 23 -- 70 Baldwin 8 10 20 22 -- 60 CASTLE -- Joel Botelho 7, Emmett Aberilla 4, Ryen Isip 22, Michael Proctor 12, Pookela Craig-Rodenhurst 10, William Harvest 9, Justin Bruhn 2, Charles Teixeira 4.
BALDWIN -- AJ Garbin 4, Nicholas Heyd 11, Sam Tolutau 5, Efren Oasay 10, Akamu Aki 8, Rodney Kekahuna 2, Brandon Ahonima 17, Kealoha Range 1, Jay Uruo 2.
3-point goals -- Castle: 5 (Isip 3, Harvest, Aberilla). Baldwin: 6 (Ahonima 3, Oasay 2, Heyd).
Mililani 61, Waimea 45
Rashaun Broadus scored 16 points to lead the Trojans past the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champions. Mililani advances to face fourth-seeded Waiakea in the quarterfinals today at 6 p.m. at Kekuhaupio Gym.
Broadus scored 10 points and had three steals in the first half as Mililani jumped out to a 31-11 halftime lead and cruised to the win.
Jordon Dizon represented the bulk of the Waimea offense, scoring a game-high 27 points. He accounted for the Menehunes' first 16 points.
Winnie Arios scored 14 points in the second half for Waimea, which will play Baldwin in a consolation game tomorrow at noon.
Waimea 7 4 17 17 -- 45 Mililani 12 19 12 18 -- 61 WAIMEA -- Winnie Arios 14, Chesley Barba 2, Mark Andres 0, Alan Manuel 0, Josh Vizant 2, Jordon Dizon 27, Darwin Tutop 0, Jay Parinas 0, Desmond Rodrigues 0, Austin Alquiza 0, Blaine Camden 0, Akeen Allen 0, Kevin Castillo 0.
MILILANI -- Thompson Ah Loo 0, Jordan Woolsey 0, Brandyn Fidel 6, Gary Deliz 10, Rashaun Broadus 16, Robert Cacace 0, Mitchell Rose 0, Jose Santos 0, Andrew Min 0, Trey Brown 3, Alex Patykula 9, Kaipo Patoc 8, Simeon Tavares 4, Anthony Gabriel 0.
3-point goals -- Waimea 2 (Arios 2). Mililani 8 (Fidel 2, Deliz 2, Broadus 2, Brown, Patykula).
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