[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
Punahou stays on course
for state tournament berth
In the universe of Interscholastic League of Honolulu basketball, there are several teams racing for a state tournament berth.
When two of those planets collided last night, the Punahou Buffanblu remained on course. The Damien Monarchs, though, are now off-course and wondering what became of a game they had so highly anticipated.
With starting center Keoni Steinhoff sidelined for a second straight game with a shoulder injury, Damien fell to No. 2-ranked Punahou 63-52. Punahou improved to 6-1, one game behind Iolani.
The win came less than 24 hours after a 34-point loss at No. 1 Iolani. "If you feel sorry for yourself after one game, you'll get bit," Punahou head coach Greg Tacon said. "We know Damien's a good team. We're not capable yet of putting people away, but I have no problem with that. We've got a young team."
Young, but extremely talented. Freshman guard Jeremiah Ostrowski led the Buffanblu with 21 points, mostly on strong drives that netted buckets and free throws. Center Kasey Ko added 14 points, freshman Spencer McLachlin tallied 11 and sophomore Brenton Lee 10.
Damien slipped to 4-3 in league play. A win over Punahou would have created a three-way tie, along with Kamehameha, for second place. In a league with just two state tournament berths, Saturday's battle was, indeed, a war of the worlds.
"We missed Keoni a lot," said Ranson DeCosta, who led all scorers with 29 points. "This is a game we needed to win to have a better chance at the state tournament (berth). We really needed him tonight."
No other Monarch scored in double figures. Steinhoff suffered the injury before Friday's win over University.
What started as a close game turned into Punahou's domain by the end of the first half. The Buffanblu extended the lead to 15 before Damien made a final push.
DeCosta, with a string of left-handed drives to the hoop and a power move in the key, scored nine points in a row to pull his team within 53-47 with 2:45 remaining.
Punahou answered with five points in a row against Damien's full-court press, and the Monarchs got no closer than 10 the rest of the way. The Buffanblu's ability to shake off losses, even turnovers, is invaluable.
"Two things are guaranteed: Kasey and (Reid) Fowler, our seniors, play the way varsity basketball should be played," Tacon said. "They forget mistakes and know how to move on."
Damien made its share of mistakes, but stayed close until Punahou went on a 6-0 run in the final 2:08 of the first half. Punahou's relentless man defense forced sloppy passing by Damien, and the Buffanblu led 27-19 at intermission.
Another 6-0 run by Punahou closed out the final 2:04 of the third quarter, propelling the Buffs to a 42-29 lead. Punahou led 50-36 with 5:28 left in the game before DeCosta and the Monarchs made a final run.
At Damien Memorial H.S. gym
PUNAHOU--Jeremiah Ostrowski 23, Storm Bridgewater 0, Danny Cho 3, Reid Fowler 4, Scott Otake 1, Brenton Lee 10, Morgan Ellsworth 0, Kaohu Berg-Hee 0, Spencer McLachlin 8, Kasey Ko 14.
Punahou (6-1) 11 16 15 21 -- 63 Damien (5-2) 10 9 10 26 -- 55
DAMIEN--Ferd Paredes 0, Antonio Cerezo 3, Micah Kikuta 0, Justin Cafil 7, Kawika Lopez 4, Va'a Faualo 2, Ranson DeCosta 29, Fehi Sevelo 5, Soane Sevelo 0, Tevita Williams 2, Sione Tau 2, Brandon Kahale 1.
3-point goals -- Punahou 4 (McLachlin 2, Ko, Ostrowski), Damien 6 (DeCosta 4, Cerezo, Cafil).
No. 1 Iolani 91, Maryknoll 56
All 12 Raiders got into the scoring book as No. 1 Iolani raced out to a 54-34 halftime lead and coasted to remain undefeated in ILH play.Kyle Pape led the Raiders with 11 points, while Jon Yasuda and Kawika Shoji each nailed two 3-pointers and finished with 10 points.
Jordan Durant scored a game-high 16 points for Maryknoll, and Tyler Tsukazaki nailed three 3-pointers en route to 15 points as the Tigers fell to 0-7.
At Kekuhaupio gym
IOLANI--Ryan Hirata 9, Vinny Nip 7, Todd Blankenship 6, Jon Yasuda 10, Derrick Low 8, Jon Takamura 8, Zach Tollefson 7, Kawika Shoji 10, Kyle Pape 11, Sean Carney 8, Wes Eberlin 5, James Street 2.
Iolani (7-0) 30 24 15 22 -- 91 Maryknoll (0-7) 11 23 9 13 -- 56
MARYKNOLL-- Jordan Durant 16, Melcar Condes 0, Travis Yamane 4, Edward Kawahara 8, Chris Lum 5, Riley Tang 4, Michael Toyama 0, Tyler Tsukazaki 15, Tommy Nguyen 4.
3-point goals -- Iolani 6 (Yasuda 2, Shoji 2, Takamura, Hirata), Maryknoll 3 (Tsukazaki 3).
No. 4 Kamehameha 47, St. Louis 43
The 4th-ranked Warriors survived a late Crusaders run to improve to 4-2 in the ILH.Trailing 33-25 entering the fourth quarter, the Crusaders made a run behind Desmond Hanohano, who finished with a game-high 19 points, but the Warriors were able to hit crucial free throws down the stretch to hold off St. Louis.
Waika Spencer led the Warriors with 15 points.
At McCabe Gym
KAMEHAMEHA--Ikaika Hardie 6, Keo Pacarro 3, Rykin Enos 2, Mike Nii 6, Waika Spencer 15, Ernie Vidinha 2, Ikaika Shelton 2, Gabriel Spencer 4, Kawika Hepa 7.
Kamehameha (4-2) 14 11 8 14 -- 47 Saint Louis (1-5) 9 10 6 18 -- 43
SAINT LOUIS--B.J. Batts 7, Keao Monteilh 8, Desmond Hanohano 19, Kerstan Ho 7, Stephen Lei 2.
3-point goals -- Kamehameha 2 (Hepa, Nii), Saint Louis 2 (Batts, Monteilh).
Mid-Pacific 60 , University 42
Chris Perry scored 16 points and Bryson Beirne and Josh Mitchell each added 15 as the Owls spoiled the Junior 'Bows homecoming with the win.Mid-Pacific put the game out of reach with a 10-0 run at the beginning of the second half to take a 34-19 lead it would not relinquish.
David Johnson led the Junior 'Bows with 11 points as University fell to 2-5 in ILH play.
At Damien Memorial H.S. gym
UNIVERSITY-- Scott Nishimoto 8, Jose Ver 0, AJ Clark 3, John Kelly 2, Michael Tenorio 1, James Cabras 7, Albert Li 0, Lucion Holyfield 2, John Duro 8, David Johnson 11.
University (2-5) 9 10 5 18 -- 42 Mid-Pacific (3-4) 9 15 15 21 -- 60
MID-PACIFIC-- Burton Woodhull 6, Cody Walker 1, Jordan Tani 0, Josh Mitchell 15, Chris Perry 16, Kyle Sakamoto 0, Ryan Chun 0, JD Lum 0, Kellen Hastie 7, Bryson Beirne 15.
3-point goals -- University 2 (Clark, Cabras), Mid-Pacific 4 (Mitchell 3, Perry).
Division II
Lutheran 65, Hanalani 62
Hawaii Baptist 55, Assets 27
Iolani 43, Academy of the Pacific 37
Saint Louis 61, Kamehameha 60
Word of Life 58, Christian Academy 32
Redemption Academy 69, Lanakila Baptist 51
High scorers--Luth: Amani Evensen 19, Jeremy Young 18, Sean Morihara 17. Hana: Justin Suderman 14, James Williams 13, Keoni Haole 13, Matt Reyes 10. HBA: Bain Mackintosh 12, Will Stinton 10. Ast: Reed Cressman 8, Tony Stanford 8. Iol: Cale Yamada 11, Alexander Why 10. AOP: Kaimana Komine 23. StL: Oren Long 16. Kam: Justin Padilla 15, Matthew Kam 15. WOL: Brashton Satele 14, Koa Pickard 11, Jorge Torres 10. CA: Joshua Dirnberger 11. RA: Anthony Troche 27, Pono Duvauchelle 24, Kaanoe Poouahi 10. LB: Charles Hazelwood 17, Kiley Tanioka 12, Galen Kama 11.
Junior varsity
Yesterday
Word of Life 62, Lutheran 23
Punahou 37, Kamehameha 33
Maryknoll 44, University High 30
Hawaii Baptist 42, Mid-Pacific 35
Friday
Word of Life 55, Mid-Pacific 39
BIIF Varsity
Hawaii Prep 70, Laupahoehoe 56
HIgh scorers--Lau: Sean Barton 19, Michael Adachi 11. HPA: Max Unger 12, Tim Quan 12, Ehitu Keeling 12, Daniel Nesheim 11.
Junior varsity
Hawaii Prep 57, Haili Christian 45
Friday's ILH BOXES
Mid-Pacific 58, Saint Louis 53
At Mid-Pacific Institute gym
SAINT LOUIS--B.J. Batts 6, Bo Runduen 0, Keao Monteilh 6, Ikaika Nakoa 0, Shaun Kauleinamoku 0, Ryan Brilhante 2, Desmond Hanohano 26, Kerstan Ho 7, Kelii Zablan 0, Stephen Lei 2, Bronson Abrigo 2, Brandon Va'a 2.
Saint Louis (1-5) 10 17 13 13 -- 53 Mid-Pacific (2-4) 16 13 11 18 -- 58
MID-PACIFIC--Josh Mitchell 16, Chris Perry 19, Kyle Sakamoto 0, Ryan Chun 9, JD Lum 0, Kellen Hastie 3, Chris Freshour 4, Bryson Beirne 7.
3-point goals -- Saint Louis 0, Mid-Pacific 5 (Chun 3, Perry 2).Damien 43, University 27
At Mid-Pacific Institute gym
DAMIEN--Fred Paredes 0, Antonio Cerezo 2, Micah Kikuta 0, Justin Casil 21, Kawika Lopez 2, Ranson DeCosta 11, Fehi Sevelo 4, Soane Sevelo 0, Tevita Williams 1, Keoni Steinhoff 0, Sione Tau 0, Brandon Kahale 2.
Damien (4-2) 4 9 19 11 -- 43 University (2-4) 7 6 10 4 -- 27
UNIVERSITY--Scott Nishimoto 2, Jose Ver 0, AJ Clark 2, John Kelly 0, Michael Tenorio 0, James Cabras 6, Albert Li 0, Lucion Holyfield 0, John Duro 10, David Johnson 7.
3-point goals -- Damien 5 (Casil 4, DeCosta), University 3 (Cabras 2, Johnson).