Caswell the key as No. 4 Kalaheo wins

An ugly night for the Kalaheo Mustangs was just another opportunity for Tyler Caswell to step up.

The 6-foot-6 senior, capitalizing on cold shooting by his teammates, hauled in 10 of his 18 rebounds on the offensive end to lead Kalaheo to a hard-earned 45-36 win at Roosevelt last night.

The two-sport standout was surprised by his rebounding total.

"For real? It shows we can win by playing defense and rebounding," Caswell said. "Getting boards is better than scoring."

Roosevelt coach John Chung gave his team, whose tallest player is 6-1, the benefit of the doubt, mostly because of Caswell.

"He's so big, he just leans on us," Chung said. "Everybody knows his role."

Kalaheo (17-7) improved to 7-1 in Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East play. Roosevelt, which upset Kaimuki at home last week, fell to 3-6 in league play.

Caswell finished with 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting -- a handsome statistic considering the rest of his team shot 10-for-44 (23 percent). Kalaheo, ranked fourth in the Star-Bulletin Top 10, made up for it with reasonable shooting at the foul line (12-for-19) and total domination on the glass.

Kalaheo outrebounded the smaller Rough Riders 45-21. Roosevelt grabbed one offensive rebound all night, while Kalaheo amassed 23.

Cliffton Pires, a 6-3 senior, helped on the boards with 10 caroms. He added 12 points to help tip the scales in Kalaheo's favor. Junior Cheynne Lishman was cold from the perimeter (1-for-11) and finished with three points and six rebounds.

"We wanted to contain him," Chung said of the dangerous long-distance shooter. "He had an off night."

Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado was relieved. "We were a little flat," he said. "When you don't play well and win, it's a blessing."

Kalaheo got a solid night from point guard Cody vonAppen (seven points), who handled Roosevelt's pressure defense with efficiency and hit four key free throws down the stretch.

Jeremy Harvest, Roosevelt's 5-foot-9 low-post threat, finished with 12 points and five boards. Roosevelt set him up with some new isolations early on against Caswell.

"We put in some clear-outs for Jeremy, hoping for a two-man game and some open jumpers," Chung said. "But (Kalaheo) defended well."

Roosevelt still has its focus on a potential playoff berth. "I'm proud of our kids. They battled and played hard, and we're getting better," Chung said.

Roosevelt was frigid from the field in the first half, making only four of its 22 field-goal attempts. Still, the Rough Riders trailed only by seven, and after Harvest hit a jump hook in the lane, they were down just 22-18 late in the third quarter.

Kalaheo responded with a 6-0 run, including a pair of buckets by reserve forward Bruce Andrews, to take a 29-18 lead. it was the Mustangs' largest margin of the game.

Roosevelt pulled within 29-25 early in the fourth quarter on a baseline jumper by Darren Erickson, but got no closer the rest of the way. The Rough Riders were within 33-27 after a drive to the hoop by sophomore Lowen Kahooilihala, but followed it with a missed layup.

Kalaheo promptly extended the lead back up to 10 on baskets by Caswell and Pires. On three different free-throw misses by Kalaheo in the final minutes, Caswell pulled down the offensive boards.

"Those little things hurt us," Chung said.

Kalaheo 45, Roosevelt 36

At Roosevelt H.S. gym

Kalaheo (7-1)	8	8	13	16	--	45
Roosevelt (3-6)	4	5	12	15	--	36

KALAHEO--Alika Kaanapu 2, Cody vonAppen 7, Koa Siliga 0, Bruce Andrews 7, Tyler Caswell 13, Cheynne Lishman 3, Chase Moses 1, Cliffton Pires 12.

ROOSEVELT-- Jason Nutter 7, Lowen Kahooilihala 6, Daniel Arruda 7, Nick Dang 0, Jason Bush 0, Darren Erickson 4, Kona Hew Len 0, Ethan Williams 0, Jeremy Harvest 12.

3-point goals -- Kalaheo 1 (vonAppen), Roosevelt 3 (Harvest 2, Nutter).

Junior varsity -- Kalaheo 53, Roosevelt 38