[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Punahou's Reid Fowler pulled in a rebound over Kalaheo's Neil Bowers during last night's game.
Mustangs make it
Kalaheo earns a chance at
redemption for 2002 loss
Kalaheo's Sam Wilhoite went hungry for two and a half quarters -- until coach Chico Furtado let him go on a feeding frenzy.
Punahou double- and triple-teamed Wilhoite, but the Buffanblu had no answer for the heralded 6-foot-7 center when the Mustangs decided to force the issue inside and pass him the ball late in the third quarter.
Wilhoite muscled his way for 13 second-half points to lead second-seeded Kalaheo to a 62-43 victory over the state's second-ranked team in front of 3,130 at Blaisdell Arena. It set up tonight's Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Championship Tournament final showdown against top-ranked Iolani. It's a rematch of the 2002 title game, which Iolani won 58-57.
"I knew my role in this game and it wasn't necessarily to score a lot," said Wilhoite, who finished with a team-high 20 anyway. "When we lost to them twice in the preseason, I scored a lot but they had double-digit victories. Tonight, we knew we had to get the guards involved and I had to distribute it back out, and I did. After a while, Punahou knew they had to watch their backs on defense and couldn't stay as tight on me because Theo (Fujita) and William (Elliott) were hitting."
Fujita and Elliott hurt Punahou (14-3) from 3-point land, mostly in the first half when the Buffanblu's front line, led by Kasey Ko, kept Wilhoite under control.
But Punahou's Jeremiah Ostrowski scored nine third-quarter points and the Buffanblu got as close as 30-28 midway through the period.
Neil Bowers hit a clutch 3-pointer for the Mustangs and Wilhoite started to do the dirty work inside as the lead increased to 39-32 at the end of three.
"Neil's shot really opened things up for us," Furtado said. "That's when we went looking for Sam and Punahou had to change its defense and come out and guard against Theo and Willy."
Kalaheo (15-1) used defensive might to take control in the first half. After weathering a 7-0 Punahou run -- in which the Buffanblu hit seven straight free throws -- the Mustangs went on an 11-0 run for a 22-14 second-quarter lead.
"We went on some dry spells," said Ostrowski, who finished with a game-high 24 points. "We had a lot of open shots, but couldn't knock 'em down. And Sam was really tough to stop. He could be the player of the year."
Elliott was the spark plug in the rally with a steal and layup, a 3-pointer and a pass to Wilhoite for an off-the-glass bucket. In the meantime, the Kalaheo defense held Punahou without a field goal for the latter half of the first quarter and throughout most of the second.
Ostrowski's trey from the wing slowed the Mustangs down a bit, making it 22-18 with a little more than two minutes to go before the break. But Fujita scored his third 3-pointer of the night to give Kalaheo a big 27-19 halftime edge.
"Sam is so pivotal," Punahou coach Greg Tacon said. "We expended a tremendous amount of energy so he wouldn't touch the ball. And Kalaheo's game plan was fantastic, the way they spaced us out on defense. We didn't have a flow tonight and we only took 15 shots and had eight turnovers in the first half. You can't have success with that."
The Mustangs are going for their fourth state championship. The other three --1985, 1995 and 2001 -- came under coach Pete Smith. The Raiders are trying for their third straight title, sixth overall and fifth under coach Mark Mugiishi. Their other championships came in 1983, 1994 and 1998.
Does Furtado think the Mustangs have a chance?
"If Iolani's bus breaks down," he said. "They're a good team and play with a lot of confidence. They feed off (Derrick) Low, but they've got a lot of others on down the line. (Ryan) Hirata can shoot, (Kyle) Pape's a good player and (Todd) Blankenship, too. And that's not all.
"We want to put on a good showing for Pete and his legacy. He's such a class guy and he's the reason I'm here. His health is of utmost importance to me."
Smith went into a coma late last year after a heart attack and other complications from colon-cancer surgery. He's out of the coma and going through rehab, and he attended one of the Mustangs' Oahu Interscholastic Association playoff games. It's possible he'll show up for tonight's game.
Mustangs 62, Buffanblu 43
Punahou--Jeremiah Ostrowski 24, Storm Bridgewater 0, Daniel Cho 2, Reid Fowler 2, Scott Otake 2, Brenton Lee 7, Morgan Ellsworth 0, Kaohu Berg-Hee 2, Spencer McLachlin 0, Kasey Ko 4.
Punahou (14-3) 10 9 13 11 -- 43 Kalaheo (15-1) 11 16 12 23 -- 62
Kalaheo--Chris Tumaneng 2, Matt Nakashima 3, Theo Fujita 17, Kahua Hollinger 0, William Elliott 8, Neil Bowers 9, David Moore 1, Daniel Phair 2, Sam Wilhoite 20.
3-point goals: Punahou 2 (Ostrowski 2), Kalaheo 6 (Fujita 3, Elliott 2, Bowers)
