[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
Mililani’s reward is
top-seeded Iolani
Mililani gets what some consider a dubious honor tonight: a semifinal date with Derrick Low and the rest of two-time defending champion Iolani's gunslingers.
Is that any way to treat a quarterfinal winner of the Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Championship Tournament?
The Trojans, however, will take it. With gratitude. Coach Mike Coito's team sees a shot at the Raiders as an opportunity, and is far from intimidated going up against the team that has dominated Hawaii high school basketball since 2002.
After yesterday's 72-62 victory over Big Island champion Kealakehe (15-1) at the Blaisdell Arena, Mililani (14-1) thinks it has the momentum to make it three wins in three days.
"I think (Low) can be unstoppable. But if we play good defense, hopefully everything will turn out all right. We're going into the game with confidence," said Trojans forward Alex Patykula, who led the Oahu public school with 19 points and six rebounds yesterday.
Patykula, who has guarded Low often in camps and summer leagues, has reason to believe. At least half of one.
He was a sophomore on the Trojans team that led Iolani by five points at halftime of a state semifinal two years ago. After the break, the Raiders used a second-half 12-point run to take control and win 62-51 on their way to their first of two consecutive state crowns.
"In the second half they kind of got away from us," Coito said. "They went into the post and they had some big boys in there."
Iolani isn't as tall as it was in 2002, but it might be better. Low is the centerpiece, and he has his choice of marksmen to pass to when he gets double-teamed.
The Raiders did their part to set up tonight's rematch by beating Kaimuki 63-41 last night in another quarterfinal. A crowd of 2,074 attended yesterday's five games.
Coito said the Trojans will try to run with the Raiders tonight, and his team will mix its defenses.
"I see it as a racehorse kind of game," he said.
That's what it was like with the Waveriders yesterday, and the Trojans were just a little better equipped for a running shootout. A basket by Puna Neumann put Mililani up 12-10 at 3:28 of the first quarter, and the Trojans never relinquished the lead.
Neumann scored 12 of his 18 points -- many of them in transition -- to lead the Trojans to a 39-29 halftime margin.
The Waveriders chipped away in the second half, and Cody Henriques hit a 15-footer to cut it to 55-53 with 4:14 left in the game.
But Mililani scored the next seven points, with a 3-pointer by Aaron Kano, two free throws from Patykula and a layup off a turnover by Scott Neumann.
Jonovan Santos added 11 points and Nick Rogers 10 for the Trojans, who shot 53 percent from the field.
Kealakehe forward Kyle Teves was game-high with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Forward Ioane Spencer pitched in 10 points off the bench.
"We just picked a bad day to have our worst game," said Waveriders coach Brian Boshard, whose team made a season-high 21 turnovers. "We had problems executing. Our defense and overall flow of the game weren't going our way from the get-go."
Spencer, who played against the Raiders in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu before he transferred from Kamehameha, is not counting out the Trojans tonight.
"Iolani knows what they're doing. They have all the parts and they've been in this situation so many times. But we thought Iolani would be beatable if we got to play them, so judging from this game I've got to say Mililani's got a chance," he said.
Mililani--Puna Neumann 18, Scott Neumann 4, Aaron Kanno 5, Clarence Gray 0, Andrew Tokumi 0, Alex Patykula 19, Jonovan Santos 11, Nick Rogers 10, Mikhail Mabry 5.
Mililani (13-2) 21 18 13 20 -- 72 Kealakehe (15-1) 17 12 13 20 -- 62 Kealakehe--Easton Takata 3, Michael Kaniho 4, Cody Henriques 6, Loa Patao 5, Aikane Pavitt 6, Jared Ursua 2, Ioane Spencer 10, Kyle Teves 26.
3-point goals: Mililani 4 (Patykula 2, Kanno, Rogers), Kealakehe 2 (Takata, Patao)
Iolani 63, Kaimuki 41
The Raiders (15-0) were at their ball-hawking, long-range shooting best for most of the game against their public-school neighbors.Ryan Hirata led the way with 16 points, including three long-range shots from nearly 30 feet. Kyle Pape added 15 and five rebounds, Low scored 12 with five assists and Todd Blankenship pitched in 10 with four assists.
The Bulldogs (12-5) took a 4-0 lead on free throws by Jimmy Miyasaka and Nick Milan's 15-foot banker. But Low took over the game for several minutes, converting an old-fashioned three-point play and then a trey from the right wing after a steal by Hirata.
"We had to adjust to playing against zone. The whole season we didn't play against zone, and it was our first game in about a week and a half," Low said. "We struggled a little bit, but in the end we found our shot and we played our usual intense defense."
Kaimuki tied the score three more times, but Iolani made four of its last five first-quarter shots from the floor, including a 16-footer by Low. The Raiders led 19-14 after the first eight minutes.
Pape hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left before halftime, giving Iolani a 30-23 bulge at the break. Low scored 10 in the first half.
But the real bombing took place in the third period, as Hirata dropped in back-to-back shots from about 28 feet, forcing a Kaimuki timeout with the score 43-29 with five minutes left in the third quarter. The long shots even surprised Hirata's back-court mate.
"I wouldn't expect him to shoot from that far," Low said. "I know he can make it, but I thought he could get a little closer. But that's his bread and butter, so he might as well shoot it."
The issue was long settled when Low's breakaway dunk made it 56-35 with 3:57 left.
Kaimuki fell victim to 25 turnovers, including 12 steals by Iolani. The Raiders pressured the Bulldogs as they brought the ball upcourt and then fell into an aggressive zone. It wore down Kaimuki.
"Our problem this year is we don't have depth and we were tired," Bulldogs coach Stephen Lee said. "To try to run up and down with a team like Iolani, our guys got winded. Any time a team gets tired they're going to break down offensively and defensively. And when Hirata hit those shots, it hurts."
Tony Fa'asoa led Kaimuki with 11 points, and Miyasaka added 10. Nick Milan pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, and the Bulldogs outrebounded the Raiders 31 to 23.
Lee said Miliani matches up as well as anyone can against the favored Raiders.
"If a team can bring the ball up the court against them, that team might have a chance," he said. "Mililani might be able to do that because they're a guard-oriented team. It should be a good game."
Kaimuki--Davey Nguyen 0, Kekoa Onaga 8, Dexter Tautofi 4, Isaiah Ano 0, Jimmy Miyasaka 10, Reginal Palfrey 0, Keanu Lockwood 0, Nick Milan 8, Tony Fa'asoa 11.
Kaimuki (12-5) 14 9 9 9 -- 41 Iolani (15-0) 19 11 17 16 -- 63 Iolani--Ryan Hirata 16, Vinny Nip 3, Todd Blankenship 10, Jon Yasuda 3, Derrick Low 12, Jon Takamura 2, Zach Tollefson 0, Kawika Shoji 0, Kyle Pape 15, Barry Kang 0, Sean Carney 2, Wes Eberlin 0, Brandon Young 0, James Street 0.
3-point goals: Kaimuki 1 (Miyasaka), Iolani 7 (Hirata 3, Nip, Yasuda, Low, Pape)
Baldwin 62, Waimea 40
The Maui Interscholastic League runner-up Bears (11-3) advanced to tomorrow's consolation final on the strength of Cody Tesoro's 17 points.Two other Baldwin players hit double figures -- Trenson Himalaya with 14 points and Cody Nakamura with 13.
With a game-high 19 points, Jordon Dizon scored in double digits for the second night in a row for Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion Waimea (8-2). He added a game-high seven rebounds.
Baldwin--Cody Tesoro 17, Cody Nakamura 13, Donnie Dadiz 0, Matt Heyd 6, Trenson Himalaya 14, Jeff Tumacder 1, Scott Suzuki 0, Kawika Liftee 8, John Salmo 3, Rhys Alvarado 0, Levi Aki 0, Shawn Shima 0.
Baldwin (10-4) 12 13 21 16 -- 62 Waimea (8-2) 8 11 7 14 -- 40 Waimea--Jeremy Manuel 5, Bully Emayo 0, Kamu Kawaihalau 2, Casey Kaohilaulii 9, Akeem Allen 0, Aaron Hesapene 0, Chad Barba 2, Jordon Dizon 19, Max Hadwin 0, Kyle Pigao 1, Jeremy McDown 2, Lanikai Kanahele 0.
3-point goals--Baldwin 0 , Waimea 2 (Dizon, Manuel).
