GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Iolani's Chad Miller pulled in a rebound vs. Punahou last night.

Low, Nash spur Iolani

---

By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.com

It took a lot longer than expected, but Iolani finally shook off Punahou midway through the third quarter on the way to a 68-45 boys basketball victory last night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

The host Buffanblu kept it close in the first half and took a slim lead after the break with lots of offensive rebounds and hot shooting to disrupt Iolani's usually brilliant transition game.

But the defending state champion Raiders' version of Kobe and Shaq -- guard Derrick Low and forward Bobby Nash -- finally took control and the final-period rout was on in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu opener for both teams.

"It changed quick, really quick," Punahou coach Greg Tacon said. "And it changed for two reasons -- Derrick and Bobby. They gave it to Derrick to make things happen, and he is a phenomenal talent, and Bobby had really good rhythm, so they weren't going to let it slip away."

Low scored eight of his 28 points in the first quarter as the Raiders went up 15-8, but the Buffanblu cut it to 21-18 at the half when Jason Sakata's 3-pointer ended a 6-0 run.

Punahou took its first lead of the game 22-21 right after halftime and built a four-point edge during the fast-paced third quarter. Drew Monahan's trey, Andrew Amigleo's steal and layup, and Chris Friedemann's basket underneath in a crowd put the finishing touches on the Buffanblu's 13-6 run for a 31-27 edge.

After an Iolani timeout, Low lit up two 3-point bombs and Nash added a five-foot hoop off a rebound during a 14-3 spree and the Raiders were back in control at the end off three periods, 41-34.

"In the first half, Punahou played a good game with nice defensive schemes," Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi said. "They kept switching up on us and they slowed down our transition game on the boards and by shooting well and playing with a lot of hustle. But at one point, Derrick and Bobby decided to take it upon their shoulders and we went on a nice run to turn it around."

Nash delivered nine of his 17 points in the fourth period as Iolani pulled away.

"Derrick was shooting under duress, we were running our defense at him," Tacon said. "And I don't think I've ever seen Bobby that smooth in the post. It's disheartening to lose to Iolani because it's such a big rivalry we have with them.

"I also sensed a breakdown in our guys. We had the second unit in for a two-minute span (in the third quarter) and they made some mistakes. But I needed to rest the starters, who had begun to tire trying to keeping up with Iolani. We just ran out of gas."

Zach Tollefson came off the bench and added to the Raiders' rush to victory with six points in the last quarter.

Amigleo led all Buffanblu scorers with 14 points.

"We picked it up on defense after the half, and got fired up and played with intensity" said Low, the Star-Bulletin's reigning Mr. Basketball. "Coach told us to penetrate more, so we did it, gained some confidence and kept building on that."

At Punahou H.S. gym

Iolani (1-0)	15	6	20	27	--	68
Punahou (0-1)	8	10	6	11	--	45

IOLANI -- Vinny Nip 0, Jon Yasuda 4, Derrick Low 28, Zach Tollefson 6, Ryan Hirata 9, Kyle Pape 0, Sean Carney 0, Bobby Nash 17, Chad Miller 0, Gage Eberlin 2, Todd Blankenship 2.
PUNAHOU -- Reid Fowler 1, Michael Lam 2, Jason Sakata 8, Drew Monahan 8, Andrew Amigleo 14, Scott Otake 0, Daniel Bertao 8, Zander Schneider 0, Christopher Friedemann 4, Brian Zane 0, Brenton Lee 0, Kasey Ko 0.
3-point goals -- Iolani 4 (Low 3, Hirata). Punahou 6 (Sakata 2, Monahan 2, Amigleo 2).

Radford 58, Campbell 52

The Rams hit 10 of 10 3-pointers, including five in the second half, to down the Sabers.
Chris Seanior led the way in the 3-point department, hitting five, including four in the crucial second half.
At Campbell H.S. gym

Radford (2-0)	11	15	16	16	--	58
Campbell (1-1)	12	20	6	14	--	52

RADFORD -- Will Kerins 0, Jordan Rellin 0, Mike Davis 4, Joshua Auelua 0, Charles Seanior 25, Richardo Shipley 2, Martin Lara 6, Tauran Moore 18, Daniel Downs 0, La Michael Wilkins 3, James Herron 0.
CAMPBELL -- James Bannister 5, Robert Morris 5, Romeo Mayrena 0, Norman Arce 0, Ian Kelley 2, Walter Daniels 2, Tristan Bailey 12, Rylan Redona , Christopher Daniels 0, Marcus Van Ness 16, Taetuli Tafai 4, Rashad Green 6.
3-point goals -- Radford 10 (Seanior 5, Moore 3, Wilkins, Davis). Campbell 1 (Van Ness).
Junior varsity -- Campbell 42, Radford 48

Leilehua 57, Waipahu 42

Three Leilehua players hit double figures as the Mules took an early lead and never looked back.
At Waipahu H.S. gym

Leilehua (2-0)	13	16	14	14	--	57
Waipahu (0-2)	8	12	13	9	--	42

LEILEHUA -- Andrew Talaeai 17, Demetrius Washington 12, Larry McCrum 0, Tyrell Couch 6, Angelo Massey 0, Antonio Carter 5, John Gory 0, Joshua Fetters 2, Zacarius Rivera 15, Anthony Hall 0, Angel Fontanez 0, Jonathan Scruggs 0, Jostin Repollo 0.
WAIPAHU -- Benedict Tedios 3, Bronson Ebinger 0, Jarrett Kalaola 3, Francis Caliboso 17, Jacob Aga 0, Albert Gamayo 0, Lionel Willis 8, Andre Tailele 5, Christopher Meana 0, Cory Komatsu 6, Tyrone Vaimoana 0, Konan Taito 0, Matthew Cabacugan 0.
3-point goals -- Leilehua 2 (Talaeai 2), Waipahu 7 (Caliboso 5, Kalaola, Tailele).
Junior varsity -- Leilehua 26, Waipahu 21

Aiea 53, Waianae 47

Samson Chung hit three 3-pointers and scored 14 points to pace Na Alii, who held off a late Searider surge.
At Waianae H.S. gym

Aiea (1-1)	14	12	18	9	--	53
Waianae (0-2)	9	9	14	25	--	47

AIEA -- Ian Delacuesta 0, Samson Chung 14, Timur Sabitov 1, Kelii Kekona 10, James Hadley 11, Gary Molina 4, Jonathan Burgos 2, RJ Kiesel-Kauhane 3, Rocky Savaiigaea 8.
WAIANAE -- James Robinson 2, Jayson Milare 11, James Quezon 0, Dewey Davis , Daryl Academia 3, John Solaita 0, Mika Pitolo 0, Uilau Faliuga 8, John Kaio 0, Justin Lafua 21, Garrison McEnroe 2.
3-point goals -- Aiea 3 (Chung 3).
Junior varsity -- Waianae 37, Aiea 28.

Roosevelt 68, Kailua 48

Bryson Borges poured in 26 points and Anthony Holyfield added 18 as the Rough Riders blazed past the Surfriders.
Borges had 16 points and Holyfield added 10 in the first half as Roosevelt took a commanding 40-16 lead at the break.
At Kailua H.S. gym

Roosevelt (2-0)	20	20	12	16	--	68
Kailua (0-2)	5	11	13	19	--	48

ROOSEVELT -- Shane Kamakura 4, Bryson Borges 26, Ryan Keomaka 0, Ivan Fujii 0, Daniel Ki 2, Daniel Balbas 4, Anthony Holyfield 18, Ricky Eusebio 3, Laa Moikeha 0, Danton Balbas 11.
KAILUA -- David Kaihenui 8, Tyler Harrison 0, Kealii Kalahiki 15, Derek Mailau 2, Corey Nemoto 0, Bronson Kamaka 3, Kekoa Sniffen 2, Brad Ching 6, Wayne Kaiu-Denning 4, Eddie Campbell 0, Xavier Hoolulu 4, Zack Meredith 2, Kainoa LaCount 0, Kea Crowell 2.
3-point goals -- Roosevelt 3 (Balbas, Borges, Eusebio), Kailua 7 (Kalahiki 4, Ching 2, Kaihenui).
Junior varsity -- Unavailable.

Castle 62, Moanalua 52

Charles Teixeira scored 12 of his 20 points in the first half and William Harvest added 10 (including two 3-pointers) of his 16 before halftime to lead the Knights.
At Moanalua H.S. gym

Castle (2-0)	13	17	15	17	--	62
Moanalua (0-2)	7	7	12	26	--	52

CASTLE -- Bryan Pelangka 2, Emmett Aberilla 6, Ernesto Lopez 0, Terry Mendez-Kema 2, William Harvest 16, Jordan Ukauka 10, Kurtis Kanekoa 4, Charles Teixeira 20, Antone Watanabe 0, Soli Lefiti 2.
MOANALUA -- Joseph Nishimura 6, Brian Bertulfo 2, Glenn Gascon 0, Jaimie Rego 15, Marquise Duvall 5, Jonathan Austad 3, Sean Mullaney 0, Chris Young 20, Darin-Jay Shinagawa 0, John Ishikawa 0, Eric Keys 1, Kamoe Mehrtens 0.
3-point goals -- Castle 4 (Harvest 3, Ukauka), Moanalua 5 (Young 4, Austad).
Junior varsity -- Unavailable.

Hawaii School Web Sites