[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Shosei Yamauchi of Kahuku put up a shot over Moanalua's Marquise DuVall in last night's Red Raider win.
Kahuku beats
Moanalua
Moanalua proved last night that taking a big lead over Kahuku means absolutely nothing.
The host Menehunes held a commanding 30-18 advantage late in the first half, but the eighth-ranked Red Raiders fought back to steal a 71-57 victory in an Oahu Interscholastic Association East game.
Tevita Finau led the Kahuku charge, scoring 17 of his 21 points in the second half, including 13 in the final period.
But it wasn't just Finau. The whole team played like it was an elimination game after the break.
"The players are starting to realize that we can really be a disciplined, focused team with good basketball senses," said Red Raiders coach Nathan James, whose team improved to 4-0 and dropped the Menehunes to 2-2. "Everybody thinks that just because football reigns supreme in Kahuku that our guys can't play basketball. These guys have the potential to be dangerous.
"In the first half, we weren't disciplined, so it was a matter of thinking defense first and settling down and executing on offense."
Moanalua went up 39-25 after Glenn Gascon's early third-quarter 3-pointer. But that's when Finau and his teammates picked up the pace by going on a 19-7 run to trim the deficit to two, 46-44, at the end of three.
Al Afalava, Waika Carvalho and Jarome Casey also had a big hand in the turnaround. Afalava was the designated ball hawker in the Red Raiders' successful press, while Carvalho and Casey continued to finish fast breaks and feed teammates inside.
Junior Ale, Shosei Yamauchi, Finau, Clinton Parks and Jeremy Perry -- among others -- worked to dominate the boards with physical and aggressive play, especially on the offensive end.
"We collapsed at the end," Menehunes coach Byron Cheng said. "We couldn't handle their press after doing a good job against it in the first half. They took it right at us and controlled the boards. We didn't box out and relied on our jumping ability too much."
Finau's rebound basket put Kahuku up 47-46 early in the fourth quarter for the team's first lead since the first few moments of the game. Less than a minute later, he dropped in another shot off a rebound and the Red Raiders went up for good 50-48. Timely drives by Ale, Carvalho and Casey boosted the advantage to 56-51 before Moanalua's Sean Mullaney cut it to 56-54 with a 3-pointer.
But the Menehunes had no answer for Kahuku's inside game the rest of the way as Casey, Finau, Hafoka and Perry hit from close range for an insurmountable 68-56 bulge with 1:23 left.
"After we started hitting some shots in the third quarter, I knew we could come back," Finau said. "It was heart, I guess. We really worked to get those boards and that was our main objective. We came out lazy and unprepared. It was the bus ride. We slept on the way here and we had to wake up after the JV game. Coach told us after the game that we have to capitalize at the start of games and can't always expect to come back."
Previously, the Red Raiders rallied from a big deficit against McKinley, but James is hoping the habit is over.
"They (Moanalua) spent a lot of energy building that lead and then got into foul trouble. Without their big guys in there (Eric Keys and Marquise DuVall), we were able to get rebounds."
Keys and Joseph Nishimura led the Menehunes with 11 points apiece. Darin-Jay Shinagawa helped out their fast start with eight first-quarter points, including two 3-pointers.
At Moanalua H.S. gym
KAHUKU--Hapaki Kaululaau 0, Spencer Hafoka 6, Waika Carvalho 10, Jarome Casey 8, Al Afalava 4, Junior Ale 6, Clinton Parks 9, Bronson Ponciano-Ahue 0, Walker Vave 1, Viliami Tilini 0, Shosei Yamauchi 2, Tevita Finau 21, Iokepa Kahele 0, Jeremy Perry 4.
Kahuku (4-0) 10 15 19 27 -- 71 Moanalua (2-2) 18 18 10 11 -- 57 MOANALUA--Sean Mullaney 5, Mitchell Kuga 4, Glenn Gascon 3, Joseph Nishimura 11, Michael Loeschke 2, Marquise DuVall 7, Jonathan Austad 0, Zachary Pendergast 5, Darin-Jay Shinagawa 9, Eric Keys 11.
3-point goals: Moanalua 3 (Shinagawa 2, Gascon)
McKinley 53, Kailua 45
Robert Holder scored 19 points as the Tigers held off a furious late charge by the Surfriders to move within a game of Kalaheo for the lead in the OIA East.
Kailua, which did not have a 3-pointer in the first three quarters, nailed five in the fourth quarter, including three by Wayne Kaiu-Denning, to make the game close.
At Kailua H.S. gym
MCKINLEY--Mark Nakatsuka 0, Abel Werner 13, Shane Quisano 14, Iakopo Taumua 2, Robert Holder 19, Quentin Sayers 4, Golden Lawrence 0, Josh Valdez 1.
McKinley (3-1) 12 11 10 20 -- 53 Kailua (1-3) 11 2 10 22 -- 45 KAILUA--Kama Crowell 3, Zach Akamine 3, Cory Nemoto 5, Bronson Kamaka 5, Justin Pedro 2, Wayne Kaiu-Denning 11, Kea Crowell 0, Kainoa LaCount 14, Hogan Paleafei 2, Tyler Harrison 0.
3-point goals -- McKinley 1 (Quisano), Kailua 5 (Kaiu-Denning 3, Nemoto, Akamine).
Junior varsity -- Kailua 63, McKinley 25
Kalaheo’s Smith leaving hospital
Former Kalaheo basketball coach Pete Smith is expected to return home today to continue his recuperation, according to his successor as the Mustangs' head man, Chico Furtado.
Smith has been at the Rehab Hospital of the Pacific, recovering from a heart attack he suffered in late October, when he also went into a coma as a result of complications from colon cancer surgery.
"I've heard he's supposed to be coming home (today), but I haven't heard much more than that," said Furtado, who has been busy coaching the Mustangs and hasn't had time to see Smith as much as he was able to in the offseason.
"I'm not sure if he's going to continue his rehab at home or if he's going to regularly return for more rehab."
Smith won 14 Oahu Interscholastic Association championships, including last year's title before retiring. He also won three state titles and guided the Mustangs to a fifth-place state finish a year ago.
