[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Iolani's Kyle Pape went to thr hoop against Punahou's Reid Fowler in last night's game.
No. 1 Iolani rips
Punahou
It was a postseason atmosphere, but a regular-season result.
Pumped-up, undefeated Punahou walked into the packed Iolani gym brimming with confidence, but the second-ranked Buffanblu went home with their first Interscholastic League of Honolulu loss, 72-38 against the top-ranked Raiders.
As is Iolani's custom, the lead just continued to grow as the game went on. The Raiders (6-0) just kept chipping away after a close first half in front of 1,200 in the main gym and another 500 watching a simulcast in the upper gym.
"The strength of our team is depth and a bunch of guys who are relentless," Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi said. "The whole team hustled, including our prototype team player Jon Yasuda off the bench. He's out there running around 100 mph. He's a real momentum shifter."
Yasuda's steals and zeal gave the Raiders the impetus for a 10-0 run early in the third quarter that turned a 10-point, 34-24 game into a 20-point, 44-24 lead.
It also helps to have Derrick Low on your side. Low, the two-time state player of the year who does a little of everything for Iolani, scored a game-high 19 points. But he didn't play once the Raiders went up 56-29 after three quarters.
"I've said this all along, everything is geared around their (the Raiders') intensity," Punahou coach Greg Tacon said. "They take their natural basketball ability -- which is sky high and the best in the state --and put all this pressure on you until it gets to a point that you don't even want the ball in your hands anymore."
The Buffanblu (5-1) grabbed a 5-2 lead and looked like they meant business, but Low deflated that early optimism by hitting a corner trey, a 12-foot jumper, a fast-break layup and two free throws for a 13-7 edge.
Punahou continued to keep it close with balanced second-quarter scoring and trailed just 26-20 with 3:20 left in the half.
Iolani gave observers a glimpse of things to come with an 8-0 run near the end of the first half and eventually went to the locker room at the break with a 34-22 edge.
"We panicked a little bit and weren't running our plays very well in the second half," said Punahou's Reid Fowler, who had a team-high 11 points and played with intensity the whole way. "We'll need to come out stronger the next time we play them. They're a tough team, so we'll need to play our best to beat them."
Low and Todd Blankenship scored six third-quarter points each for the Raiders, while Yasuda and Zach Tollefson added four each as they outscored the Buffanblu 22-7.
"We all stepped up our intensity in the second half," Yasuda said. "We kept hustling and wanted to try to put the game away so it wouldn't be close at the end. That's what we try to do, especially in the third quarter."
Ryan Hirata hit four 3-pointers for Iolani, including three from beyond 25 feet, and finished with 14 points.
"I hope our boys see what it takes to be a great team -- to be intense like Iolani," Tacon said. "But I also really hope they can bounce back from this and realize that they've been playing good all year and keep on playing hard against all the rest of the tough teams that we'll face."
At Iolani School gym
PUNAHOU--Jeremiah Ostrowski 3, Storm Bridgewater 5, Danny Cho 2, Reid Fowler 11, Scott Otake 2, Brenton Lee 4, Morgan Ellsworth 2, Kaohu Berg-Hee 2, Spencer McLachlin 3, Kasey Ko 6.
Punahou (5-1) 10 12 7 9 -- 38 Iolani (6-0) 13 21 22 16 -- 72
IOLANI--Ryan Hirata 14, Vinny Nip 7, Todd Blankenship 6, Jon Yasuda 8, Derrick Low 19, Jon Takamura 2, Zach Tollefson 8, Kawika Shoji 6, Kyle Pape 2, Sean Carney 0, Wes Eberlin 0, James Street 0.
3-point goals -- Punahou 4 (Ostrowski, Bridgewater, Fowler, McLachlin), Iolani 5 (Hirata 4, Low).
NO. 4 KAMEHAMEHA 67, MARYKNOLL 40
The Spartans got off to a slow start in the first quarter and couldn't catch up to the Warriors.Waika Spencer scored 16 points and Ernie Vidinha added 12 for Kamehameha. Tyler Tsukazaki had 16 points to lead Maryknoll.
At Kekuhaupio Gym
MARYKNOLL-- Jordan Durant 0, Edward Kawahara 9, Chris Lum 3, Riley Tang 3, Michael Toyama 4, Tyler Tsukazaki 16, Tommy Nguyen 5, Melcar Condes 0, Travis Yamane 0.
Maryknoll (0-6) 5 17 7 11 -- 40 Kamehameha (4-2) 17 15 17 18 -- 67
KAMEHAMEHA--Ikaika Hardie 7, Keo Pacarro 0, Rykin Enos 2, Jacob Ho 5, Quincy Crowell 0, Mike Nii 4, Jacob Bode 2, Waika Spencer 16, Kapono Kuikahi 2, Ernie Vidinha 12, Ikaika Shelton 4, Gabriel Spencer 3, Kawika Hepa 10, Aaron Aiu 0 .
3-point goals -- Maryknoll 5 (Tsukazaki 2, Kawahara 1, Nguyen 1, Tang 1), Kamehameha 1 (Hardie 1).
DAMIEN 41, UNIVERSITY 27
No details reported.Division II
Lutheran 48, Assets 30
Punahou 56, Iolani 40
Word of Life 60, Hanalani 59, OT
Lanakila Baptist 41, Christian Academy 38
Kamehameha 59, AOP 26
Hawaii Baptist 56, Saint Louis 48High scorers -- Luth: Matthew Uffman 14, Jeremy Young 11. Ast: Nick Castello 11. Pun: Brian Matsumoto 20. Iol: Brandon Young 12. WOL: Brashton Satele 21, Andrew Rutherford 12. Hana: Keoni Haole 19, Justin Suderman 11. LB: Kylie Tanioka 15. CA: Caleb Dirnberger 12, Joshua Dirnberger 10. Kam: Matt Woody 10. AOP: Kaimana Komine 10. HBA: Will Stinton 14.
Junior varsity
Maryknoll 89, Lutheran 31
Iolani 53, Damien 50
University 60, HBA 46
