Raiders roar to No. 4
Kyle Pape scores 27 points as Iolani
defeats Kahuku 62-51 to win its fourth
straight boys basketball title
On a night of brilliant firsts, becoming the first team in Hawaii history to win four state titles in a row, the Iolani Raiders were all about the present.
Iolani thoroughly outplayed Kahuku in a 62-51 title win last night in the Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Championships.
Kyle Pape, who led the way with 27 points, was named Most Outstanding Player by a voting panel of media. The 6-foot-1 senior scored 93 points in the tourney, averaging 31 per game.
"That's the state tournament. It's about being calm and executing," the versatile guard said. "I don't want this night to end. I'm gonna call Derrick (Low) right now."
Low, now a freshman point guard at Washington State, led Iolani to the last three state titles before graduating last year.
Kahuku played in its first state title game.
"Iolani was just tremendous. Congratulations to a winner," Red Raiders coach Nathan James said.
Before 4,205 at Blaisdell Arena, Iolani (29-2) completed a perfect season against Hawaii competition. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions did it with nearly flawless execution in every aspect.
"It was all ball pressure," Pape said. "They handled it pretty well in the beginning, but they wore down. Like I said earlier, it came down to free throws."
Iolani hit 22 of its 31 tries from the foul line. Kahuku had just 13 attempts, making seven.
The "One Team" effort also included some key contributions off the bench. Among them, Wally Marciel came up with big boards and clutch defense. He and his teammates drew three charging calls in the early going to set the defensive tempo.
"I knew they were big, strong and physical," the junior forward said. "I decided to stand there and take the charges. Everybody did it."
Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi went deep into his bench to outlast Kahuku.
"It took a good team effort by our kids. Wally was a sparkplug," the 15th-year head coach said.
Vinny Nip added nine points and Kawika Shoji had seven rebounds for the Raiders, who knew enough about their shot at a four-peat. It just was never a point of attention.
"There are eight kids on this team who never played in a state tournament before," Mugiishi said. "Each year is a special story for each of our kids."
Iolani's Kawika Shoji grabbed a first-half rebound in front of Kahuku's Devin Unga last night.
Unga was named to the all-tournament team along with Pape and Nip, Trenson Himalaya of Baldwin and Jeremiah Ostrowski of Punahou.
"Where they hurt us most was with the offensive rebounds. We rotated, but they always had a great athlete underneath," Mugiishi said.
Shane Hayden added 11 points, but the sharpshooter didn't hit his first trey until late in the contest.
The Red Raiders made just four of their 20 3-point tries and turned the ball over 17 times.
"It hurt when our guards picked up fouls," James said. "Iolani shoots free throws so well, and they kept attacking. You gotta play a near flawless game to beat them."
Kahuku opened with its normal 2-3 zone trap and stayed close. However, Parks picked up his second personal foul early. That affected Kahuku's ballhandling options against Iolani's pressure defense.
Hayden, the 2 guard, took over the point instead of Okesene Ale Jr., arguably the team's best ballhandler. Kahuku, notorious for slow starts, struggled offensively with Parks on the bench.
Meanwhile, Iolani's offense found its groove. Pape hit a trey from the left wing, and Marciel drove for another bucket.
Marciel's quickness in the post helped, as well. The 5-10 junior picked away a pass, and Pape later fed him for a layup shortly before the end of the quarter to a 9-2 run. Iolani led 17-9 going into the second stanza.
The Raiders pushed the ball in transition consistently to get easy shots and free-throw opportunities. After Shoji sank two free throws, Iolani led 29-17 midway through the second quarter. Parks returned to the game with 2:27 left in the second, but Nip immediately swished a trey from the right wing.
Thanks in large part to eight Kahuku turnovers -- and just two of its own -- Iolani led at intermission, 32-19.
Iolani extended the lead to 15 and was never seriously threatened in the third quarter. Kahuku, still in its 2-3 zone trap, brought the lead down to 38-29 after Unga made two free throws, but Pape finished the quarter strong. He cut through the middle, caught a pass from Marciel for a layup, and later hit a pair of foul shots near the end of the third.
Iolani led 42-32 entering the fourth quarter. Kahuku, which had its share of fourth-quarter comebacks en route to the OIA crown, was poised to make a run against an Iolani lineup that had two reserves on the floor. Instead, Marciel, a backup post, scored on a layup off a feed from reserve guard Kekai Kealoha.
Moments later, Kealoha tipped a pass by Parks and scored on a breakaway layup to give Iolani a 48-33 lead with 6:50 remaining.
Hayden hit his first trey of the game shortly after, but it was too late. With 4:24 left, Mugiishi ordered his team to spread the floor, and the Raiders stormed to the finish with another title.
Kahuku, a squad heavy with juniors, has plenty to look forward to.
"They set a precedent. Their passion and love to do this, a sport that we have a lot of doubters in, is amazing," James said. "This is important to show that football is important in Kahuku, but other sports can excel."
For Parks, who had a solid tourney before struggling last night, the disappointment was impossible to hide.
"Knowing that I won't be stepping on the floor with our seniors again. Me and Shane were like brothers. Last summer, our goal was to make it to this game, win this game," the junior said. "Coach did everything for us. I know we all gave it 100 percent and left it on the floor. This night, Iolani is the better team."
THIRD PLACE
Baldwin 65, Campbell 62
Matt Heyd hit two go-ahead free throws with 22 seconds left as the Bears rallied past the Sabers to claim third place.Baldwin trailed by nine in the final quarter, but Nakamura scored on the low post and Himalaya drained a 3-pointer from the top to spark a comeback. Heyd's foul shots gave Baldwin a 63-62 lead. On the ensuing possession, Ryan Hayes' entry pass to Mark Sealy was too high, and Trenson Himalaya grabbed the ball quickly. He swished two free throws with 8 seconds to go for a three-point lead.
Tristan Bailey's 3-point try missed as time expired.
Himalaya, a 6-foot senior, finished with 27 points and five rebounds. Heyd tallied 16 points, and Cody Nakamura added 11 for Baldwin (23-3), ranked No. 3 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.
Bailey led Campbell (21-5) with 16 points and six assists. James Bannister had 14 points and four blocked shots, and Sealy added 10 points and four assists.
| Baldwin | 11 | 13 | 15 | 26 | -- | 65 |
| Campbell | 11 | 11 | 21 | 19 | -- | 62 |
Baldwin--Jeff Tumacder 0, Cody Tesoro 6, Scott Suzuki 0, Rhys Alvarado 0, Donnie Dadiz 0, Chase Nakamura 1, Matt Heyd 16, Cody Nakamura 11, Colten Quinabo 0, Jordan Helle 4, Trenson Himalaya 27.
Campbell--Tristan Bailey 16, Ryan Hayes 4, Robert Morris 7, Michael McDonald 0, Tristan Sealy 3, Mark Sealy 10, Terrance Tafai 0, James Bannister 14, Daniel Phillips 8.
3-point goals: Baldwin 1 (Himalaya), Campbell 1 (T. Sealy).
FIFTH PLACE
Punahou 48, Kalaheo 39
Jeremiah Ostrowski scored 15 points, and Danny Cho added 10 points and six rebounds as the Buffanblu finished in fifth place. Kasey Ko tallied nine points, and Spencer McLachlin added eight points and seven caroms for Punahou (24-10), the ILH runner-up.Tate Brown led Kalaheo (18-13) with 13 points.
| Punahou | 8 | 15 | 12 | 13 | -- | 48 |
| Kalaheo | 10 | 11 | 7 | 11 | -- | 39 |
Punahou--Trenton Zane 0, Jeremiah Ostrowski 15, Brandon Kapana 0, Edward Wong 0, Danny Cho 0, Brenton Lee 10, Robby Shklov 1, Ka'ohu Berg-Hee 5, Spencer McLachlin 8, Brian Matsumoto 0, Kasey Ko 9, T.J. Zabriskie 0.
Kalaheo--Elias David 6, Chris Tumaneng 4, Jason Tanaka 0, Isaac Higa 0, Mana Guerreiro 0, Tate Brown 8, Marvin Judd 6, Cheynne Lishman 0, Jeff Whitworth 1, Case Moses 2, David Moore 6, Cliffton Pires 4, Tyler Caswell 2.
3-point goals: Punahou 3 (Ostrowski 3), Kalaheo 0.
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP
Kauai 56, Waiakea 46
Josh Bradbury scored 20 points and dished out five assists as the eighth-ranked Red Raiders captured the consolation bracket title. Bradbury shot 8-for-16 from the field, including 3-for-8 from the arc. Va'afuti Tavana, a 6-foot-8 senior, tallied 19 points and seven rebounds. He also blocked four shots for Kauai (12-4).
Chris Gorman led Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up Waiakea (21-8) with nine points and six caroms. The Warriors, who shot 34 percent from the floor, went scoreless for 6 minutes at the start of the second half as Kauai rallied.
| Waiakea | 12 | 13 | 3 | 18 | -- | 46 |
| Kauai | 4 | 18 | 14 | 20 | -- | 56 |
Waiakea--Reed Akashi 0, Chad Kawazoe 0, Brent Sanbei 2, Tyler Kaneshiro 3, Jon Moniz 7, Chris Gorman 9, Scott Ichinotsubo 5, Jamie Gutierrez 2, Jordan Cabreros 8, Michael Belmes 0, Reiny Carvalho 0, Kahanu Irizarry 6, Kyle Santos 4.
Kauai--Jeremy Manuel 8, Kekoa Crowell 5, Josh Bradbury 20, Garrett Sakimae 0, Brandon Ballesteros 2, Matthew Paloroan 2, Jordan Cox 0, John Penn 0, Va'afuti Tavana 19, Kevin Downing 0.
3-point goals: Waiakea 5 (Cabreros 2, Kaneshiro, Moniz, Ichinotsubo), Kauai 3 (Bradbury 3).
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