OIA RED PLAYOFFS
Kaimuki will defend its title tomorrow
Kaimuki big men Beau Albrechtson and Keone Reyes were not about to let their hopes of a second consecutive Oahu Interscholastic Association championship slip away.
Despite blowing a 13-point lead they established midway through the second period, the fifth-ranked Bulldogs outlasted No. 8 Radford 68-59 in the first semifinal of the OIA Red Division tournament last night at McKinley's Student Council Gym.
Kaimuki (10-5) moves on to face Kalaheo in the championship game tomorrow at 7 p.m. at McKinley.
"Me and Keone, we've been playing together for a long time, so we're able to read each other," Albrechtson said. "We were both able to get in down low, and either one of us was able to score (when called upon)."
Albrechtson poured in a game-high 28 points, while Reyes added 18 to form a two-headed monster for the Radford defense to cope with. The two dominated the boards as well, and collected nine and seven rebounds, respectively.
"Me and Beau, that's how we do," Reyes said. "Coach depends on us, so we had to step up and play our best."
Kaimuki leaned on its powerful big men inside all night. The Bulldogs' agile guards Daniel Colon and Brandon Madamba forced turnovers around the perimeter and spread the floor to allow their big men space to operate in the paint, and then found them with laser-like passes.
"It's for the love of the game, and when we play as a team, we play really good ball," Albrechtson said.
Both squads traded baskets until Kaimuki surged ahead to an 18-12 lead to end the first quarter on a short jumper from Reyes to beat the buzzer. The Bulldogs continued to dominate, and extended a 13-4 run that began in the middle of the first period and led to a 24-14 advantage.
But after Kaimuki pushed the seemingly comfortable lead to 32-19 midway through the second period, Radford roared back, finishing the half on a 10-0 streak. The comeback, which put the Rams within striking distance at 32-29, was fueled by two Gary Satterwhite 3-pointers and two short jumpers from Antonio Williams.
"I was kind of worried there," Kaimuki head coach Kelly Grant said of the Rams' run. "We had to keep changing up our defense. We had everybody guarded and we had our biggest guys on the court. They were going to get shots off, so we had to limit them to one shot (per possession)."
Radford (10-5) kept the momentum to start the second half, eventually tying the score at 38 on a trey from Satterwhite. The Rams didn't allow the Bulldogs to reclaim the lead, and ended the quarter ahead 46-44.
Kaimuki wasn't down for long, and put together a 10-2 run to begin the fourth quarter. After Radford came back to take the lead, 57-56 with 3:13 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs turned the tables with a 12-2 streak to end it.
"We had to play defense and that's what we did," Albrechtson said. "In the beginning, we let them take the ball down time after time. But we just stepped up on defense, and that's how we won in the end. We knew we had to come back, our coach was telling us (at halftime) that we had to play as a team."
Reyes echoed his teammate's sentiment.
"We knew we had 'em," he said. "We just had to keep playing our game and that's what we did."
In defeat, Satterwhite posted 21 points and nailed three 3-pointers to keep the Rams in the game.
At McKinley H.S. gym
Kaimuki (10-5) |
18 |
14 |
12 |
24 |
-- |
68
|
Radford (10-5) |
12 |
17 |
17 |
13 |
-- |
59
|
KAIMUKI--Daniel Colon 9, Chezz Ramos-Dias 0, Craig Cabudol 4, Brandon Madamba 2, Bryan Lim 0, Makalii Nahinu 7, Ryan Kakitani 0, Keone Reyes 18, Beau Albrechtson 28.
RADFORD--Travis Daniels 4, Justin Lord 8, Matt Hoover 10, Matt Alofaituli 0, Soosoo Tauleilei 8, Gary Satterwhite 21, Antonio Williams 8.
3-point goals -- Kaimuki 2 (Colon, Reyes), Radford 5 (Satterwhite 3, Hoover 2).
FIFTH-PLACE BRACKET
Kailua 49, No. 7 Mililani 48
Billy Oden hit five of six free throws in the final 2 minutes to help the Surfriders escape with a crucial victory on the Trojans' court.
Mililani had a final chance to win it with 4 seconds remaining, but its final shot bounced off the side of the rim at the buzzer.
Oden scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, and Zachary Akamine matched his total with 14.
Brandon Dela Cruz scored a game-high 15 points for Mililani, which lost its second straight game after an undefeated OIA regular season. The Trojans are out of the postseason.
Kailua went up seven points with about 3 minutes left. With about 50 seconds left, the Trojans started fouling, but Oden was able to convert enough to carry his team.
Kailua plays Moanalua on Saturday for the OIA's fifth Division I state tournament berth.
At Mililani H.S. gym
Kailua (9-5) |
15 |
10 |
11 |
13 |
-- |
49
|
Mililani (12-2) |
10 |
16 |
5 |
17 |
-- |
48
|
KAILUA--Gerald Ho 3, Tim Maghinay 0, Zachary Akamine 14, Sammy Trueman 2, Billy Oden 14, Ryan Naluai 6, Chauncy Makainai 0, Kenny Ellis 10.
MILILANI--Scott Burns 7, Jordan Torres 4, Curtis Murakami 5, Kendrick Clarke 4, Donovan Olmos 8, Nick Kanno 2, Warren Duke 2, Brandon Dela Cruz 15, Jonathan Keen 1.
3-point goals -- Kailua 4 (Akamine 2, Oden, Ho), Mililani 3 (Olmos 2, Torres).
Moanalua 63, Leilehua 47
Steve Austin scored 23 points and went 9-for-10 from the foul line to keep Na Menehune's state playoff hopes alive with a win over the Mules.
Leilehua closed the gap to nine in the fourth quarter, but Moanalua made its free throws down the stretch to put the game away. Na Menehune play Kailua on Saturday for the OIA's final Division I state playoff berth.
Corey Morgan scored a team-high 12 points for Leilehua, all on 3-pointers.
At Mililani H.S. gym
Moanalua (10-5) |
11 |
14 |
16 |
22 |
-- |
63
|
Leilehua (7-8) |
7 |
10 |
8 |
22 |
-- |
47
|
MOANALUA--Kris Lazarou 1, Jay Yoshizawa 5, Paul Wasada 0, Emanuel Vierra 0, Stevie Austin 23, Rob Munoz 3, Josh Kure 13, Roshawn Terry 2, Casey Schuler 7, Ryan Hua 9, Shawn Richey 0, AJ Kirkman 0.
LEILEHUA--Dustin Pau'u 7, Tyler Togashi 0, Kolwin Dixon 6, William Burroughs 2, Paul Williams 0, James Samuel 0, Tavana Alailima 6, Corey Morgan 12, Josh Brooks 5, Art Laurel 6, Viliami Haunga 0, Kekoa Kama 3.
3-point goals -- Moanalua 7 (Austin 2, Munoz, Kure, Schuler, Hua, Yoshizawa), Leilehua 5 (Morgan 4, Pau'u).