[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kalaheo's William Elliott attempted a layup during the first half of last night's OIA championship game at the McKinley gym. The Mustangs beat Mililani to win the league title.
Kalaheo wins OIA title
The Mustangs beat Mililani and
head into next week's state
basketball tournament
Sam Wilhoite made sure Kalaheo's senior class would not experience a season without an Oahu Interscholastic Association championship.
The Mustangs' 6-foot-7 center nearly had a triple-double last night with 31 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocked shots as Kalaheo won its fourth consecutive OIA title with a 60-44 victory over Mililani at McKinley High School.
The title was Kalaheo's 10th in the last 11 years.
"That's awesome," Wilhoite said. "I think it would have been disappointing to win it every year and then lose it my senior year. I wanted to keep up the trend."
Wilhoite accounted for just over half of Kalaheo's point total, but credited his teammates for finding him in the post and hitting enough shots outside to open him up.
Guard Theo Fujita hit two 3-pointers and finished with 12 points for the Mustangs (13-1).
"My boys did a great job finding me when I was open and they did a great job pulling up for their own shots when they needed to," Wilhoite said.
Mililani (12-1) was led by Alex Patykula's 12 points and got 10 from Puna Neumann. But the Trojans didn't have an answer for Wilhoite.
"He moves well," Mililani coach Mike Coito said. "If you let up for a second he's going to find an opening and take advantage of it."
The teams traded blows in an even first period before Kalaheo broke away with an 11-0 run to end the second quarter to turn a five-point deficit into a 29-23 halftime lead.
Wilhoite, who accounted for nearly half of Kalaheo's output with 14 points, sparked the run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key after Mililani had taken a 23-18 lead.
The Mustangs held the Trojans scoreless for the final six minutes of the half.
"We pride ourselves on defense, and that's what fueled our run. "We always want Sam to get some touches," said Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado, who kept the title on the Windward side in his first season as head coach. "Offensively, if you're not doing well, you can always count on the defensive end."
Kalaheo stretched the lead to double digits in the third quarter and Wilhoite scored eight points in a 12-2 Kalaheo run to open the fourth quarter.
"We tried (to defend Wilhoite)," Coito said. "But even when the defense was working, the offense wasn't."
At McKinley H.S. Gym
KALAHEO--Elias Ayau 0, Chris Tumaneng 3, Matt Nakashima, 2, Theo Fujita 12, Kahua Hollinger 0, William Elliott 6, Neil Bowers 4, Joshua Perry 0, David Moore 0, Clifton Pires 0, Jason Tanaka 0, Daniel Phair 2, Sam Wilhoite 31, Marvin Judd 0.
Kalaheo (13-1) 17 12 14 17 -- 60 Mililani (12-1) 17 6 12 9 -- 44 MILILANI--Puna Neumann 10, Scott Neumann 2, Aaron Kano 5, Clarence Gray 0, Andrew Tokumi 0, Alex Patykula 12, Jonovan Santos 8, Nick Rogers 6, Mikhail Mabry 1.
3-point goals --Kalaheo: 4 (Fujita 2, Wilhoite 2). Mililani: 4 (Kanno 1, Patykula 2, Rogers 1).
No. 7 Kaimuki 46, No. 9 McKinley 39: Kekoa Onaga scored 12 points while Dexter Tautofi and Tone Faasoa each added 10 as the No. 7 Bulldogs beat the No. 9 Tigers for third place in the OIA tournament.
The inconsistent Tigers were held to four points in the first quarter but exploded for 20 in the second to go into halftime trailing by a single point, 25-24. Kaimuki's defense clamped down in the second half though, holding the Tigers to just 15 points the rest of the way and the offense scored 21.
The Bulldogs only went to the line three times in the second half despite the slim lead. They made five of their six attempts from the line to seal it.
Abel Werner led the Tigers with 16 points.
At McKinley H.S. gym
KAIMUKI--Kekoa Onaga 12, Dexter Tautofi 10, Isaiah Ano 0, Jimmy Miyasaka 8, Tone Faasoa 10, Nick Milan 6.
Kaimuki (11-4) 13 12 10 11 -- 46 McKinley (9-6) 4 20 7 8 -- 39 MCKINLEY--Mark Nakatsuka 1 , Abel Werner 16, Kapena Quisano 9, Iakopo Taumua 0, Robert Holder 11, Golden Lawrence 0, Josh Valdez 2.
3-point goals -- Kaimuki 3 (Onaga 2, Miyasaka), McKinley 3 (Holder, Quisano).
BIIF Tournament
No. 7 Kealakehe 68, No. 9 Waiakea 58: Kyle Teves and Jared Ursua each scored 17 points and the Waveriders won the Big Island Interscholastic Federation tournament to remain undefeated.It was the first time a team from Kona had won the BIIF regular season and the tournament, according to coaches Brian Broshard and Pat Primaco.
"The way history is written, we have accomplished something," Broshard said. "We will go back to practice tomorrow."
Both teams qualified for the state tournament at the Blaisdell Center beginning Wednesday.
Michael Bellman led the Warriors with 14 points, followed by Tyler Ishimura and Kahanu Irizarry, who put on a 3-point shooting display in the second half after Waiakea was down 33-19 at the half, with 12.
