KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kamehameha's Willie Melemai was mobbed by a group of Waiakea players in the paint last night.
Rivers leads Multi-sport standout Jason Rivers of the Saint Louis Crusaders didn't worry about scoring last night. He had a much more important job to do.
Crusaders
The senior holds Daniel Tautofi
to 2 points as Saint Louis beats
Kaimuki in the state tournamentBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comHe shut the door on Kaimuki's powerful Daniel Tautofi as the Crusaders squeezed out a 47-45 victory in the first-round showcase game of the Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Championships before about 2,200 at Blaisdell Arena.
Tautofi, who averaged 25 points per game in the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs, didn't score in the first half and finished with only two points against Rivers. Tautofi and Rivers are headed to the University of Hawaii on football scholarships.
"It was a big challenge to cover him," Rivers said. "Looks are deceptive. He can get to the hole and people underestimate his quickness. But I've gone against quicker guys -- like Derrick Low of Iolani and Jonah Lakatani of our team, who I practice against every day -- and that helped me. He's (Tautofi) not as quick as them."
The Crusaders (12-3) play Big Island champion Keaau (13-0) in the quarterfinals today at 2:15 p.m.
"What a nice job Jason did on Daniel," Crusaders coach Delbert Tengan said. "He slowed down that monster."
Saint Louis led by as many as 10 in the first half, but Kaimuki refused to go away.
Nick Milan's inside basket put the Bulldogs on top temporarily, 38-37, early in the final period. But Saint Louis regained the lead, 43-40, on B.J. Batts' trey and Rivers' feathery baseline layup. From there, Saint Louis went to a stall and forced Kaimuki to foul.
Tautofi's only basket came with 20 seconds left, cutting the Crusaders' lead to 43-42. But then Saint Louis' Desmond Hanohano scored what proved to be the winning points with a put-back. Jimmy Miyasaka's trey for the Bulldogs at the buzzer cut the final deficit to two.
"Saint Louis is a tough team, I have to say," Kaimuki coach Stephen Lee said. "I've seen a few videos of their games and I think they can beat Iolani. I knew they were going to the stall, so we tried to keep in there. It's a shame we faced each other so early in the tournament, but I'm not grumbling. We lost and we'll move on."
Long bombs were the rule in the fast-paced first quarter. The brothers Miyasaka -- Richy and Jimmy -- each dropped in a trey for the Bulldogs, while Lakatani swished home two 3-pointers for the Crusaders as Saint Louis built a 13-10 lead.
Timo Paepule's two inside hoops and Batts' 3-pointer keyed a 10-3 run to open the second quarter as the Crusaders took command at 23-13, and they went to the lockers at the half up 25-18.
Kaimuki (11-3) got as close as two points twice in the third quarter as Richy Miyasaka didn't let a stuff by Hanohano bother him. On his next chance, Miyasaka drove the lane and converted a free throw for a three-point play. Isaiah Ano added a trey to make it 30-28.
Lakatani answered with a trey as the Crusaders built it back up to 35-28, but Jimmy Miyasaka hit the final five points of the period to make it 35-33 heading to the fourth quarter.
Jimmy Miyasaka, who finished with a game-high 21 points, hit two free throws to tie it at 35 early in the fourth.
But the night belonged to Rivers, whose masterful defense handcuffed Tautofi, making it hard for the Bulldogs to play their game. Hanohano was also a major factor in the Crusaders' victory with 13 rebounds, including nine on the defensive side.
"Our three losses were all because of defensive pressure," Kaimuki's Lee said. "And we knew it was coming this time because Rivers blanketed Daniel when we lost to them by a bunch in the preseason. We live and die with Daniel."
Tautofi, who pulled in seven rebounds, didn't make any excuses for his lowest point total of the season.
"Basically (Rivers) just denied me the ball, period," Tautofi said. "He made me work for everything and I had an off night. We got here as a team. I didn't do my part and we fell short. That's how life goes."
Lakatani and Paepule led the Crusaders with 11 points apiece.
At Blaisdell Arena
Kaimuki (11-2) 10 8 15 12 -- 45 Saint Louis (11-3) 13 12 10 12 -- 47 Kaimuki--Davey Nguyen 0, Richy Miyasaka 8, Daniel Tautofi 2, Isaiah Ano 5, Junior Maiava 0, Jimmy Miyasaka 21, Jon Torres 0, James Davis 0, Nick Milan 9.
Saint Louis--B.J. Batts 9, Keao Monteilh 3, Douglas Adachi 0, Tavita Thompson 0, Jonah Lakatani 11, Desmond Hanohano 7, Jason Rivers 6, Timo Paepule 11, Wilson Afoa 0.
3-point goals: Kaimuki 6 (J. Miyasaka 4, R. Miyasaka, Ano), Saint Louis 6 (Lakatani 3, Batts 2, Monteilh).
KAMEHAMEHA 64, WAIAKEA 52: With William Melemai prowling the paint, Waiakea was out of luck last night.Melemai, the Warriors' 6-foot-6 center, played a can't-miss kind of game from inside 5 feet and piled up 26 points and a team-high six rebounds in the victory over the game's other Warriors.
Except for a brief period late in the first quarter and early in the second, when Waiakea trailed 19-18, the outcome was never in doubt.
"Will had a great game," Waiakea coach Jay Bartholomew said. "We didn't have an answer for him. We tried to sag our defense and double down on him, but they started hitting the outside shots, too. Our kids did everything they could do, but when you're outmatched size-wise -- we had a guy 6-0 guarding someone 6-6 -- there's not much you can do."
Melemai got some help inside from Waika Spencer, who scored 11 points and pulled in five boards, and Kamehameha (13-4) also benefited from the speedy Caleb Spencer, who finished off numerous fast breaks. Caleb Spencer scored 16 points and gave his teammates a thrill with a slam dunk in the final minute.
Sean Soriano hit four 3-pointers for Waiakea, which got 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds from Jay Bartholomew, the coach's son.
Kamehameha goes against OIA champion Kalaheo (11-3) in tonight's second-round game at 7:30.
"Coach Pete Smith is going to do some things to make it difficult for us," he said. "They're one of the hottest teams. To me, it looks like a game between two evenly matched teams that play the same type of game and I think it will be a good showcase game" Kamehameha coach Darryl Gabriel said.
Waiakea plays Mililani today at 12:30 in a consolation game.
At Blaisdell Arena
Kamehameha (13-4) 15 17 18 14 -- 64 Waiakea (9-5) 9 11 15 17 -- 52 Kamehameha--Parker Bode 0, Jacob Bode 0, Eric Shaver 4, Galen Santana 0, Jarrett Day 0, Caleb Spencer 16, Aaron Kahaloa 5, Radford Hepa 2, Waika Spencer 11, Aaron Aiu 0, William Melemai IV 26.
Waiakea--Kyle Correira 7, Michael Belmes 0, Tyler Nishimura 6, Sean Soriano 12, Cody Aragaki 2, Levi Bartholomew 14, Cheynne Hirota 4, David Doll 0, Ronnie Loeffler 6, Justin Pascual 1, Abraham McGrew 0.
3-point goals: Waiakea 5 (Soriano 4, Nishimura), Kamehameha 2 (W. Spencer, Kahaloa).
LEILEHUA 52, WAIMEA 45: At halftime, Mules coach Keith Spencer asked for someone to lead his team to victory, and Angelo Massey took the words to heart.Leilehua led 20-18 at the half and Massey scored 16 second-half points to knock Waimea into the consolation bracket. He finished with a game-high 24 points
"The coach asked for someone to step it up, so I stepped it up," said Massey, the Mules' sixth man.
Leilehua went up by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, but the Menehunes cut it to five on three late 3-pointers --two by Jeremy Manuel and one by Jordon Dizon.
"Massey was big-time for us," Spencer said. "We desperately needed a spark and he gave it to us. We came out flat, but finally played Leilehua basketball in the second half with some tough defense."
The Mules (12-2) take on second-seeded Maui (14-0) today at 4 in a quarterfinal game.
"Maui, whew," Spencer said. They're No. 2, they're big and athletic, but we're not going to back down."
Waimea (8-1) plays Kaimuki tomorrow at 1:45.
"Our defensive philosophy was to force them to hit the outside shot," Menehunes coach Matt Taba said. "And he (Massey) went off on us. Our problem wasn't as much on defense as it was turnovers. We turned it over at least a half-dozen times in key situations."
At Blaisdell Arena
Waimea (8-1) 8 10 14 13 -- 45 Leilehua(12-2) 11 9 18 14 -- 52 Waimea--Jeremy Manuel 16, Jay Parinas 1, Blaine Camden 2, Mark Andres 0, Alan Manuel 0, Joshua Vinzant 2, Jordon Dizon 17, Desmond Rodrigues 2, Casey Kaohelaulii 3, Akeem Allen 0, Lanikai Kanahele 2.
Leilehua--Andrew Talaeai 6, Demetrius Washington 8, Tyrell Couch 0, Angelo Massey 24, Antonio Carter 8, Zacarias Rivera 2, Anthony Hall 0, Angel Fontanez 2, Jonathan Scruggs 2.
3-point goals: Waimea 5 (Manuel 4, Dizon), Leilehua 4 (Massey 4).
BALDWIN 59, MILILANI 43: The Bears (11-4) controlled the tempo and used their trademark halfcourt offense to wear down the Trojans (9-6).Rodney Kekahuna scored 14 points to lead the Maui Interscholastic League runners-up into today's 5:45 p.m. quarterfinal game against top-seeded and defending state champion Iolani (14-0).
"We can try against Iolani, but they're a pretty big team. And quick," said Kekahuna, a 6-foot-2 senior center. "So we have to keep up with them and play good defense."
Akamu Aki added 12 points and six assists and Nick Heyd scored 11 for Baldwin, which used screens and cuts to the basket to get layups and draw fouls.
"That's what we do best, so we have to do that," Bears coach Wayne Gushiken said. "We knew Mililani was an explosive team, even without (suspended forward Simeon Tavares), so we knew we had to control the ball."
Zac Anduha scored all the Trojans' points as Mililani took a 7-3 lead. But Cody Nakamura scored five of his eight points to give Baldwin a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Brandyn Fidel hit a 7-foot leaner to make it 24-24 at 7:31 of the third quarter, but Kekahuna hit two buckets as the Bears went on a 6-0 run and spent the rest of the game pulling away.
Anduha was game-high with 20 points and Fidel added 11.
Mililani had 24 fouls and Baldwin had six, but Mililani coach Mike Coito did not use that as an excuse.
"We just couldn't get our offense going," Coito said. "We got close and didn't have any ammo left. It's pretty sad, because we're a lot older than them. Their kids are a lot younger. They're very patient and they ended up with good shots. Very good shots."
At Blaisdell Arena
Mililani (9-6) 8 14 7 14 -- 43 Baldwin (11-4) 13 11 9 26 -- 59 Mililani--Zac Anduha 20, Lorenzo Abernathy 0, Aaron Kanno 0, Puna Neumann 2, Brandyn Fidel 11, Jonovan Santos 0, Scott Neumann 0, Jordan Woolsey 2, Clarence Gray 2, Scott Duvauchelle 0, Andrew Tokumi 0, Alex Patykula 4, Tony Gabriel 2, Mikhail Mabry 0.
Baldwin--Akamu Aki 12, Trenson Himalaya 4, Rodney Kekahuna 14, Cody Tesoro 2, Nick Heyd 11, Matt Heyd 2, Cody Nakamura 8, Donnie Dadiz 4, Jordan Kamikawa 0, Sherwin Mina 2, Roy Antolin 0, Scott Lafey 0.
3-point goals: Mililani 4 (Anduha 4), Baldwin 1 (Aki).
The Star-Bulletin's Dave Reardon contributed to this report.
Seeded teams: Boys State Basketball
(All games at Blaisdell Arena)
1. Iolani (14-0),
2. Maui (14-0),
3. Keaau (13-0),
4. Kalaheo (11-3).Yesterday
Game 1: Leilehua 52, Waimea 45
Game 2: Kamehameha 64, Waiakea 52
Game 3: Baldwin 59, Mililani 43
Game 4: Saint Louis 47, Kaimuki 45Today
Game 5: Waiakea vs. Mililani, 12:30 p.m.
Game 6: Keaau vs. Saint Louis, 2:15 p.m.
Game 7: Maui vs. Leilehua, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Iolani vs. Baldwin, 5:45 p.m.
Game 9: Kalaheo vs. Kamehameha, 7:30 p.m.Tomorrow
Game 10: Waimea vs. Kaimuki, 1:45 p.m.
Game 11: Losers of Games 8 and 9, 3:30 p.m.
Game 12: Losers of Games 6 and 7, 5:15 p.m.
Game 13: Winners of Games 6 and 7, 7 p.m.
Game 14: Winners of Games 8 and 9, 8:30 p.m.Saturday
Consolation championship
Game 15: Winners of Games 5 and 10, 3 p.m.
Fifth-place game
Game 16: Winners of Games 11 and 12, 4:30 p.m.
Third-place game
Game 17: Losers of Games 13 and 14, 6 p.m.
Championship game
Game 18: Winners of Games 13 and 14, 8 p.m.
Hawaii School Web Sites
