HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Leilehua runs past Kahuku
After heading into the locker room clinging to a one-point halftime lead, Leilehua head coach Keith Spencer told his team to increase the pressure on defense.
Mission accomplished.
The Mules (7-6) used their speed to force an effective combination of steals and blocked shots to outscore Kahuku 21-13 in the third quarter, and held on for the 59-55 win in the opening round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Division Tournament last night at Moanalua High School. With the victory, Leilehua will take on the OIA Red East champion Kalaheo, which had a bye in the first round, tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. on the Mustangs' home floor.
"At halftime, we told our boys that we needed to score some of our points off of (pressure caused by) our defense because we were relying too much on our offensive sets," Spencer said. "I told them they needed to start gambling and putting more ball-pressure on (their offense) to generate some points, which we did. That was the key tonight. We kind of blew them out and then settled into our half-court offense, and we were able to score off of that (as well)."
Kolwin Dixon poured in a game-high 24 points for the Mules, most of which came off jump shots and layups in the lane created by the defensive pressure and resulting fast breaks. The guard also added six rebounds and two blocked shots -- not an easy accomplishment considering he was battling beneath the boards with Red Raiders center Pat Au, a 6-foot-7, 320-pound behemoth.
"We played with a lot of heart tonight, we had nothing to lose," Dixon said. "You have to give it to (Kahuku), they played really hard. (After the pounding from Au), I think I'm gonna have to start lifting weights now."
Both squads see-sawed with the lead throughout the first half, with each team managing no more than a three-point lead. Leilehua relied on Dixon and forward Art Laurel, as the duo scored the team's first 16 points, a streak that lasted until 4:15 remained in the half.
But it was the dominant third-quarter effort, which was capped by a 14-7 Mule run to end the period, culminating with a buzzer-beating shot from Josh Brooks. Leading 43-34 to start the fourth quarter, Leilehua slowed things down, and tried to play keep-away down the stretch to run time off the clock.
In defeat, Jray Galeai led the Red Raiders (3-10) with 15 points and three 3-pointers, while Au chipped in 13.
The Leilehua celebration was put on hold because as the game ended, Dustin Pau'u laid writhing on the court in obvious pain with an apparent ankle injury. The speedy guard is one of the Mules' best players and a catalyst for most of their fast-break points -- he had 13 assists and 11 steals last night. It was unclear whether the injury is serious enough to keep him out of tomorrow's game.
"I think we match up well against Kalaheo," Spencer said after tending to Pau'u. "I have the full respect for Coach (Chico) Furtado and what he's been doing out at Kalaheo, but our boys understand that we're just as big as them, we're athletic and we can play. It all depends because this year, this team has been up and down. But, the last three games, we've been playing at this (high level of) energy. If we keep playing at this energy, we can compete with anybody."
At Moanalua H.S. gym
Kahuku (3-9) |
13 |
8 |
13 |
21 |
-- |
55
|
Leilehua (6-6) |
14 |
8 |
21 |
16 |
-- |
59 |
KAHUKU--Nehoa Akina 0, Pele Soliai 0, Jack Damuni 1, Irwin Ah-Hoy 0, Ian Fujinaga 2, Onosai Wong 12, Alema Tachibana 0, Willie Ching 12, Pat Au 13, Jray Galeai 15.
LEILEHUA--Dustin Pau'u 7, Kolwin Dixon 24, Paul Williams 0, James Samuel 0, Tavana Alailima 1, Corey Morgan 2, Josh Brooks 5, Art Laurel 10, Viliami Haunga 4, Kekoa Kama 6.
3-point goals -- Kahuku 5 (Galeai 3, Ching 2), Leilehua 1 (Kama).
Moanalua 57, Pearl City 36
Na Menehune (9-4) handled the Chargers easily on their home court thanks to a game-high 22 points from Stevie Austin. Teammate Josh Kure chipped in 12, and Ryan Hua added eight.
The Chargers (1-12), who made it into this game as the last seed on the luck of a coin flip, were led by Kawika Borden with seven points.
The win vaults Moanalua into a meeting tomorrow at 5 p.m. against OIA Red West No. 2 seed Campbell at Kalaheo's gym.
At Moanalua H.S. gym
Pearl City (1-12) |
4 |
12 |
14 |
6 |
-- |
36
|
Moanalua (9-4) |
8 |
20 |
10 |
19 |
-- |
57 |
PEARL CITY--Kellen Oshiro 2, Micha Choy 0, Skye Kaapuni 6, Troy Antoque 5, Lawrence Acasia 2, Ryne Calbero 6, Allan Agni 2, Trenton Buchanan 0, Scott Braceras 0, Karlo Rarangol 6, Kawika Borden 7.
MOANALUA--Kris Lazarou 2, Jay Yoshizawa 0, Paul Wasada 0, Emanuel Vierra 2, Stevie Austin 22, Rob Munoz 3, Josh Kure 12, Roshawn Terry 0, Casey Schuler 8, Ryan Hua 8, Shawn Richey 0, Reece Racoma 0, AJ Kirkman 0, Manny Lusco 0, Matt Alombro 0.
3-point goals -- Pearl City 3 (Calbero 2, Antoque), Moanalua 5 (Austin 3, Munoz, Kure).
Radford 61, Castle 46
Gary Satterwhite scored 19 points and Travis Daniels added 16 as the Rams used a 20-10 third quarter to pull away from the Knights.
Nickolas Tuamoheloa paced Castle with 13 points.
At Radford H.S. gym
Castle (3-10) |
8 |
13 |
10 |
15 |
-- |
46
|
Radford (9-4) |
14 |
14 |
20 |
13 |
-- |
61 |
CASTLE--Bronson Kekahuna 6, Nickolas Tuamoheloa 13, Marcus Ofoia 0, Layne Kihara 3, Scott Keiter-Charles 6, Micah Clore 2, Malani Lum 10, Shayne Carvalho 0, Vernon Mitchell 2, Kyle Kia 0, Michael Santos 4, Isaiah Tilton 0, Kevin Aipia 0.
RADFORD--Andre Brown 0, Jonathan Combis 0, Travis Daniels 16, Joash Pagilinan 0, Justin Lord 8, Mario De Los Santos-Gonzalez 0, Stevie Williams 0, Matt Hoover 6, Jared Brown 2, Matt Alofaituli 5, Aldrin Valdez 0, Gary Satterwhite 19, Antonio Williams 5.
3-point goals -- Castle 6 (Tuamoheloa 3, Kekahuna 2, Kihara ), Radford 3 (Hoover 2, Satterwhite).
No. 10 Kaimuki 60, Waianae 39
Keone Reyes led four Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points and Brandon Madamba added four 3-pointers as the Bulldogs opened defense of their OIA championship by routing the Seariders.
Ramsey Beers had a game-high 19 points and Jarred Burns added 13 for Waianae.
At Radford H.S. gym
Waianae (5-8) |
8 |
13 |
4 |
14 |
-- |
39
|
Kaimuki (8-5) |
11 |
12 |
15 |
22 |
-- |
60 |
WAIANAE--Bryson Kekahuna 0, Jeremy Green 0, James Pond II 0, Kaipo Punihaole 0, Ramsey Beers 19, Jamerson Smith 3, Jesse Lafua 4, Jarred Burns 13.
KAIMUKI--Daniel Colon 11, Chezz Ramos-Dias 0, Craig Cabudol 0, Brandon Madamba 13, Bryan Lim 0, Chauncey Nicola 2, Jamari Hamilton 0, Makalii Nahinu 4, Ryan Kakitani 0, Keone Reyes 18, Desmond Tautofi 0, Preacher Namdrik 0, Beau Albrechtson 12.
3-point goals -- Waianae 1 (Beers), Kaimuki 6 (Madamba 4, Albrechtson, Colon).