[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Leilehua's Antonio Carter went to the hoop against Mililani's Alex Patykula during last night's game. The Trojans won in double-OT.
Neumann leads
Mililani to win
Eleven lead changes is enough to give the best of coaches a headache, but Mililani's Mike Coito and Leilehua's Keith Spencer were surprisingly calm after last night's intense double-overtime game in Wahiawa.
The sixth-ranked Trojans improved to 4-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association West Division by prevailing 65-61 over the fourth-ranked Mules.
Puna Neumann's hot hand late in regulation and in the two four-minute overtime periods proved to be the major difference for visiting Mililani. He finished with a game-high 22 points, but 18 of those came from the fourth quarter on, including 12 overall in OT and eight in the second extra period.
"It's the first time all season we've been down in a game," Neumann said after his clutch performance. "And when it's a tough game like that, it's all about character. We had enough character to come back."
Coito was visibly relieved after the victory.
"For sure, everybody (who watched) went home happy," he said. "I hope we have enough left for Saturday's game against Pearl City. We were lucky to hit some outside shots at the right time.
"And Neumann did what he did despite being all busted up. He's had a sore shoulder at practice and he hurt his hip during the game. He has ice water in his veins. He's a competitor and a real gamer."
Neumann's first big shot was a baseline jumper with just over a minute left in regulation, giving the Trojans a 42-41 lead -- the ninth lead change of the contest.
Mililani went up 44-41 when Aaron Kanno hit two from the line, but Leilehua's Edward Garcia hit an improbable 3-pointer to send it to OT. Garcia's off-balance, awkward shot swished in from the sideline and he fell out of bounds after letting it go.
The Mules grabbed a 52-46 edge in the first OT and it looked like they would hold on. But the Trojans' Jonovan Santos made the first of two free throws to make it 52-49 with 36 seconds left. Mililani got the rebound on his second-shot miss and Neumann drained a 3-pointer from the right wing six seconds later to force the second OT.
"We expected him (Neumann) to hit all those shots," Spencer said after the loss. "We scouted Mililani a lot and know they've got a bunch of shooters. But I'm proud of our team even though I'm disappointed with the outcome."
But Neumann was just warming up. He scored five early points in the second overtime, including a trey from the same spot as his previous bomb for a 57-52 edge.
The Mules (2-1) battled back on two 3-pointers from Kennedy Orteza and got as close as 63-60. But single foul shots from Kanno and Santos sealed it.
"Sure, I felt pressure," Neumann said. "But these are the kinds of positions you live for. Once our shots started going down, our defense really picked it up."
Leilehua's Angelo Massey and Kanno gave their teams early lifts. Massey scored eight of his 15 points in the third quarter as the Mules took a 34-33 lead heading into the final 8 minutes. Kanno scored eight of his 15 points in the second quarter as the Trojans overturned Leilehua's 15-12 first-quarter lead into a 26-22 advantage.
At Leilehua H.S. gym
MILILANI--Blaine Kanno 0, Lorenzo Abernathy 0, Maka Kahoano 0, Puna Neumann 22, Scott Neumann 4, Stevie Viel 0, Aaron Kanno 15, Ryan Shular 0, Clarence Gray 4, Charles Richie 0, Andrew Tokumi 4, Alex Patykula 6, Jonovan Santos 6, Nick Rogers 2, Mikhail Mabry 2.
Mililani (4-0) 12 14 7 11 8 13 -- 65 Leilehua (2-1) 15 7 12 10 8 9 -- 61
LEILEHUA--Angelo Massey 15, Edward Garcia 3, Kennedy Orteza 8, Tim Grant 0, Joshua Fetters 0, Anthony Palomares 1, Antonio Carter 15, Kekoa Kama 0, Yahweh Yago 0, B.J. Fruen 0, David Spore 0, Anthony Hall 4, Angel Fontanez 5, John Scruggs 0, Clayton Laurel 11.
3-point goals: Mililani 6 (Neumann 3, A. Kanno 3), Leilehua 3 (Orteza 2, Garcia)
Junior varsity -- Mililani 57, Leilehua 46
