[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]

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Wilhoite leads Kalaheo
over Kahuku in OT

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By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.com

Ground zero at last night's Kahuku vs. Kalaheo basketball game was under the basket as post players Sam Wilhoite of the Mustangs and Tevita Finau of the Red Raiders engaged in a territorial struggle.

Wilhoite had the upper hand, slightly, and scored 29 points to lead host Kalaheo to a 74-61 overtime victory over Kahuku in a crucial Oahu Interscholastic Association East showdown. The defending OIA champion Mustangs (9-1) clinched the East's top seed in the playoffs and can capture the division championship outright in coach Chico Furtado's first season with a win at McKinley this Saturday.

"It was intense out there inside. Sam did good and T did good, and Sam came out with a little more luck," said Kahuku forward Waika Carvalho, who scored a team-high 19 points in a losing effort. "I don't think we communicated enough on defense and that hurt us."

Finau didn't go down easy against the 6-foot-7 Wilhoite. He rejected the Kalaheo standout twice, but he got a taste of his own medicine late in regulation. With only 23 seconds left and the score tied 58-all, Finau posted up with a chance to put the Red Raiders ahead, but had the ball swatted away by Wilhoite.

The game actually came down to shooting. Theo Fujita hit five 3-pointers in regulation and then went 5-for-5 from the line in the overtime as Kalaheo pulled away. He finished with 26 points.

Overall, the Mustangs were an uncanny 14-for-15 from the charity stripe in OT.

"Kahuku was more athletic than us," Fujita said. "So instead of always trying to go inside, we worked on getting it outside, and the 3-pointers we were hitting were a big key in the win. It feels great to clinch (the East's top seed)."

The Red Raiders, who finish Saturday at home against Kaimuki, grabbed an early 11-6 lead, but Kalaheo went on a 14-0 run to take a 20-11 edge early in the second quarter. Wilhoite keyed the rally with seven points.

Kahuku spent the rest of the half catching up. A 16-8 spurt had the Red Raiders trailing 30-29 at the break. Finau scored eight of his points to spearhead the comeback.

Carvalho scored eight points in the Red Raiders' dominant 14-3 surge in the third for a commanding 45-37 lead. Junior Ale, who finished with 15 points, was also instrumental during that span.

But, trailing 56-50 late in regulation, Fujita hit two 3-point bombs and Wilhoite added a dunk -- his second of the night --for the 58-all tie to force OT.

"We were undersized and worked hard to block those guys out underneath so they couldn't shoot," Kalaheo assistant coach Wally Marciel said. "And we hit some major free throws in the overtime."

At Kalaheo H.S. gym

Kahuku (8-2)	11	18	18	11	3	--	61
Kalaheo (9-1)	17	13	18	10	16	--	74

Kahuku--Hapaki Kaululaau 5, Jarom Casey 8, Al Afalava 1, Junior Ale 15, Shosei Yamauchi 0, Tevita Finau 13, Jeremy Perry 0, Waika Carvalho 19.
Kalaheo--Chris Tumaneng 1, Matt Nakashima 7, Theo Fujita 26, William Elliott 3, Neil Bowers 0, David Moore 6, Daniel Phair 2, Sam Wilhoite 29.
3-point goals: Kahuku 4 (Casey 2, Kaululaau, Ale), Kalaheo 9 (Fujita 5, Wilhoite 2, Elliott, Nakashima)

No. 10 Castle 56, Moanalua 48
The Knights made two runs to catch up and defeat the Menehunes.

Trailing by eight at halftime, the Knights switched from a zone defense to man-to-man in the third and outscored Moanalua 19-9 to take a 36-34 lead. Castle carried the momentum into the fourth to finish off Moanalua.

Junior Mansanas hit four 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead the Knights. Joseph Nishimura also hit four 3s and finished with 17 for Moanalua.

At Castle H.S. gym

Moanalua (7-3)	10	15	9	14	--	48
Castle (8-2)	9	8	19	20	--	56

MOANALUA--Glenn Gascon 2, Joseph Nishimura 17, Michael Loeschke 11, Marquise Du Vall 4, Zachary Pendergast 3, Darin-Jay Shinagawa 3, Eric Keys 8, Micah Bagor 0, Sean Mullaney 0.
CASTLE--Bryan Telangka 3, Brad Gui 0, Jonathan Horner 10, Junior Mansanas 23, Bryce Kalauokaaea 8, Jordan Bruhn 0, Antone Watanabe 6, Victor Clore 0, Blaze Soares 6, Scott Argue 0.
3-point goals -- Moanalua 6 (Nishimura 4, Pendergast 1, Shinagawa 1), Castle 5 (Mansanas 4, Kalauokaaea 1).
Junior varsity -- Moanalua 70, Castle 28

Kaiser 71, Thompson 26
Chris Assily scored 17 points and Steven Pratt added 13 as the Cougars became the latest team to roll over Thompson Academy.

At Kaiser H.S. gym

Thompson (0-10)	7	4	14	1	--	26
Kaiser (2-8)	9	19	5	28	--	71

THOMPSON ACADEMY--Keo Evans-Gonda 13, Justin Chang 0, John Abrams 0, Devin Eror 3, Aja Muncie 1, Lance Chang 5, Joshua Musick 4.
KAISER--Chad Nishihira 9, Matt Ching 5, Andy Uehara 0, Jeff Peters 5, Chris Assily 17, Mitch Shimabukuro 5, Sheldon Herring 6, James Bello 0, Colby Ho 3, Brett Hatten 4, Shannon Wise 4, Steven Pratt 13.
3-point goals -- Thompson 3 (Evans-Gonda 2, Eror), Kaiser 4 (Nishihira, Peters, Pratt, Shimabukuro).

Kapolei 57, Nanakuli 54
The Golden Hawks trailed throughout, but tied it at 50 with a little over a minute left. E.J. Aton hit a 3-pointer --his third of the game -- to put Kapolei up for good, and Brad Padayao converted on two free throws down the stretch to keep the Hurricanes in front.

At Kapolei H.S. gym

Nanakuli (6-3)	13	10	13	18	--	54
Kapolei (7-3)	13	15	15	14	--	57

NANAKULI--Kyle Beck 0, James Chandler 16, Jimmy Afamasaga 9, Albert Distajo 7, David Balicao 4, Justin Luavasa 5, Jaycee Alapai 0, Rolando Celes 5, Alan Kalahiki-Pilialoha 3, Alika Enos 0, Keala Watson 5.
KAPOLEI--E.J. Aton 13, Aaron Lewis 0, Jefferson Gaygay 11, Rod Smith 0, Roland Mason 0, Brad Padayao 10, Hector Malazarte 3, Jerome Figueroa 2, Warren Simanu 12, Mose Atuatasi 6.
3-point goals -- Nanakuli 4 (Afamasafa, Celes, Distajo, Kalahiki-Pilialoha), Kapolei 6 (Aton 3, Gaygay 3).
Junior varsity -- Kapolei 46, Nanakuli 35

Mililani 65, Waialua 43
Ryan Shular scored 12 points and three others chipped in eight as the Trojans roughed up the Bulldogs.

At Mililani H.S. gym

Waialua (0-10)	8	16	11	8	--	43
Mililani (9-0)	22	21	15	7	--	65

WAIALUA--R. Dacuycuy 0, K. Silva 2, G. Rubio 2, J. Gudoy 0, J. Miller 4, L. Samaoang 20, C. Bell 2, B. Macadangdang 4, G. Madarang 2, H. Theo-Lamar 7.
MILILANI--Blaine Kanno 5, Lorenzo Abernathy 2, Maka Kahoano 4, Puna Neumann 7, Scott Neumann 2, Stevie Viel 0, Aaron Kanno 2, Ryan Shular 12, Clarence Gray 5, Charles Richie 0, Andrew Tokumi 8, Alex Patykula 8, Jonovan Santos 2, Nick Rogers 8.
3-point goals -- Waialua 2 (L. Samaoang 2), Mililani 4 (Tokumi 2, B. Kanno, P. Neumann).
Junior varsity -- Mililani 79, Waialua 45

McKinley 65, Kalani 57
Abel Werner scored 23 points and three other Tigers scored in double figures as McKinley took care of Kalani.

The Tigers outscored the Falcons 20-13 in the final quarter to break open the close games.

At Kalani H.S. gym

McKinley (7-3)	21	12	12	20	--	65
Kalani (3-7)	10	18	16	13	--	57

MCKINLEY--Mark Nakatsuka 2, Abel Werner 23, Shane Quisano 14, Robert Holder 12, Golden Lawrence 0, Josh Valdez 14, Chris Quiocho 0.
KALANI--Carsen Chun 4, Dusten Umeda 10, Cody D'Amato 1, Kellen Kashiwa 6, Cory Konishi 10, Zachary Felipe 0, Mark Bonner 2, Jason DeGuzman 21, Jonah Letoto 3.
3-point goals -- McKinley 5 (Holder 2, Quisano 2, Werner), Kalani 3 (Kashiwa 2, Letoto).
Junior varsity -- McKinley 62, Kalani 55

ILH

No. 1 Iolani 66, University 31
With star Derrick Low out resting an ankle injury, the Red Raiders still remained undefeated with a rout of the Junior 'Bows.

Ryan Hirata scored 13 points and Vinny Nip added in 10 for Iolani.

At Iolani gym

University (4-7)	3	12	6	10	--	31
Iolani (11-0)	18	18	18	12	--	66

UNIVERSITY--Scott Nishimoto 0, Jose Ver 2, John Kelly 2, Michael Tinerio 1, James Cabras 1, Albert Li 0, Lucion Holyfield 7, John Duro 4, David Johnson 14.
IOLANI--Ryan Hirata 13, Vinny Nip 10, Todd Blankenship 9, Jon Yasuda 2, Jon Takamura 4, Zach Tollefson 6, Kawika Shoji 7, Kyle Pape 7, Sean Carney 6, Wes Eberlin 2, James Street 0.
3-point goals -- University 1 (Johnson), Iolani 8 (Hirata 3, Nip 2).

No. 2 Punahou 55, Saint Louis 49
At Hemmeter Fieldhouse, Desmond Hanohano scored 26 points for the Saints but didn't get enough help to overcome the No. 2 Buffanblu.

Micah Ostrowski and Scott Otake each scored 10 for Punahou, which improved to 9-1. The Crusaders fell to 3-7.

Punahou: Micah Ostrowski 10, Storm Bridgewater 0, Daniel Cho 0, Reid Fowler 9, Scott Otake 10, Brenton Lee 9, Robbie Schlov 0, Morgan Ellsworth 4, Kaohu Berg-Hee 0, Spencer McLachlin 7, Kasey Ko 6, TJ Zabriskie 0.
St. Louis: BJ Batts 3, Bo Ronduen 0, Keao Monteilh 4, Ikaika Nakoa 0, Shaun Kauleinamoku 0, Ryan Brilhante 0, Desmond Hanohano 26, Kerstan Ho 10, Keli'i Zablan 2, Stephen Lei 4.
3-point goals -- Pun: 5 (Otake 2, Fowler, Lee, McLachlin). Stl: 2 (Batts, Ho).

Mid-Pacific 52, No. 7 Kamehameha 51
Three Owls finished in double figures as Mid-Pacific upset the Warriors.

Josh Mitchell scored 12 points and Chris Freshour and Chris Perry added in 11 apiece. Kamehameha hit six 3-pointers and was led by Ikaika Hardie's nine points.

At Kekuhaupio gym

Mid-Pacific (5-6)	9	19	14	10	--	52
Kamehameha (5-6)	14	11	16	10	--	51

MID-PACIFIC--Burton Woodhull 0, Josh Mitchell 12, Chris Perry 11, Ryan Chun 0, JD Lum 7, Kellen Hastie 5, Chris Freshour 11, Bryson Beirne 6.
KAMEHAMEHA--Ikaika Hardie 9, Keo Pacarro 0, Rykin Enos 8, Jacob Ho 4, Quincy Crowell 6, Jacob Bode 0, Waika Spencer 8, Kapono Kuikahi 4, Ernie Vidinha 0, Ikaika Shelton 3, Gabriel Spencer 4, Kawika Hepa 5.
3-point goals -- Mid-Pacific 2 (Lum, Mitchell), Kamehameha 6 (Crowell 2, Enos 2, Hardie 2).

Damien 61, Maryknoll 41
The Monarchs outscored the Spartans 23-10 in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

Despite leading 15-4 after the first, Maryknoll stayed close with Damien, trailing by just seven points entering the fourth. But Ranson DeCosta scored seven of his game-high 13 points in the fourth for Damien to put the game out of reach.

Chris Lum had 10 points to lead Maryknoll.

At Damien Memorial gym

Maryknoll (0-11)	4	9	18	10	--	41
Damien (6-5)	15	7	16	23	--	61

MARYKNOLL-- Jordan Durant 6, Kealakai Hussey 6, Edward Kawahara 6, Chris Lum 10 , Riley Tang 4, Tyler Tsukazaki 4, Tommy Nguyen 5, Melcar Condes 0, Travis Yamane 0.
DAMIEN--Fred Paredes 2, Antonio Carezo 9, Micah Kikuta 4, Justin Casil 8, Kawika Lopez 6, Va'a Faualo 4, Ranson DeCosta 13, Fehi Sevelo 6, Soane Sevelo 2, Tevita Williams 2, Keoni Steinhoff 5.
3-point goals -- Maryknoll 3 (Kawahara 2, Nguyen 1), Damien 3 (Casil 2, Carezo 1).

Varsity Boys Division II

Hanalani 48, Assets 22
Redemption 53, Academy of Pacific 42
Saint Louis 76, Christian Academy 39
Word of Life 37, Iolani 34
Leading scorers--Hana: Justin Suderman 14, Keoni Haole 14. Asst: Nick Castello 10. Red: Pono Duvauchelle 26. AOP: Puna Kaopuiki 9. StL: Oren Wong 13. CA: Joshua Dirnberger 21. Red: Pono Duvauchelle 26. AOP: Puna Kaopuiki 9. WOL: Michael Baas 11. Iol: Kyson Morikuni 9.