Cahillites almost
done in by fun

Playing tourist can be fun for the average traveler to the islands.

For the Cahillites of Roman Catholic (Penn.), distractions nearly proved disastrous. Mike Ringgold scored 15 points and Malik Perry added 14 as Roman Catholic rallied from a nine-point deficit for a 55-50 win over Iolani yesterday afternoon at the Iolani Classic.

"I think it was a case of island fever," Cahillites coach Dennis Seddon said.

The Cahillites meet Punahou today at 3:30 p.m.

Iolani, ranked No. 1 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10, faces Male (Ky.) at 5 p.m.

Ringgold, a 6-foot-6 junior, pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Cahillites. Perry added nine caroms as his team owned a 31-11 edge on the glass.

Bob Jordan added 10 points, three assists and three steals.

Vinny Nip led Iolani with 16 points, including four-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. Kawika Shoji tallied 13 points, and Kyle Pape added 11. Point guard Barry Kang had five rebounds to lead Iolani.

Roman Catholic shot 55 percent from the field, limiting the Raiders to 41 percent shooting.

Roman Catholic came out flat and groggy against host Iolani, a team that had yet to win a game against a mainland school in this tourney.

"I could see it this morning at our shootaround. We were more worried about having fun than the game," Seddon said. "If I'd known this would happen, I would've locked them up in their rooms after the shootaround."

A 26-8 run propelled Roman Catholic into the lead for good, however.

"I'm just kidding. We want them to have an educational experience here, learning about new cultures," said Seddon, now in his 19th season as head coach. "It's 24 degrees and snowing back home."

Back home for the Cahillites is Philadelphia. "They reminded me of St. Joe's Prep," said Jordan, a 6-foot senior point guard. "Iolani's not overly big, but they have decent height, and their big guys can all handle the ball."

Jordan stepped up with six-of-seven shooting at the free-throw line.

"Earlier in the day, Coach said he wanted me to be more of a leader. This is my fourth year on varsity, so I'm used to stepping up when the game is on the line."

Seddon knew Iolani's style would pose problems for his taller, but younger team.

"We had some great defensive stops in the fourth quarter," he said. "I like Iolani's offensive sets. I enjoyed watching that from a coaching perspective. If I could've just watched, I would've been on the top row. The three Hawaii teams I've seen -- Punahou, Kamehameha and Iolani -- are very well-coached. I just told our kids, 'Hey, we survived.' "

Male (Ky.) 54, Punahou 48: Forrest Smallwood scored 22 points, including two key free throws with less than a minute left as the Bulldogs rallied past the Buffanblu.

Smallwood, a 6-5 junior, hit clutch shots from near and far to carry Male's struggling offense.

"We've been in these kinds of games before. We're struggling to find our identity," longtime coach Bryce Hibbard said. "Forrest can drive you crazy, and he can also come up big."

Douglas Beaumont added 11 points, including four critical points down the stretch.

Jeremiah Ostrowski led Punahou with 22 points and six boards. Brenton Lee added 11 points. The Bulldogs outrebounded Punahou, 29-22.

"When 12's shooting it, they can be hard to guard," Hibbard said of Ostrowski.

Hibbard, in his 14th season at the helm, credited a gutsy defensive effort.

"Corey Gainey is only a sophomore, but he's one of our defensive aces. He ran down balls and hit free throws," he said.

Punahou trailed 27-17 early in the third quarter, but Male switched to a man defense as Ostrowski got hot. The sophomore guard scored eight points as the Buffanblu pulled within 36-35 with 1:31 left in the third.

Punahou went ahead 41-40 on a pair of foul shots by Lee. Spencer McLachlin hit a pull-up jumper and tipped in a miss by Kasey Ko to extend the lead to four points.

However, the Buffanblu had breakdowns. Beaumont drove uncontested for a layup, and after McLachlin's long inbounds pass was intercepted, Shane Harvey tied the game at 47 with two foul shots.

Jacob Bream stole the ball from McLachlin and Beaumont hit a jumper from the left elbow to give Male a 49-47 lead with 1:19 remaining.

McLachlin hit one of two foul shots to bring his team within a point, but Punahou got no closer. The Bulldogs made five of their final six attempts from the line to seal the win.

Kauai 71, McKinley 51: Va'afuti Tavana poured in 28 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Red Raiders. Tavana is a 6-8, 255-pound senior who is also a volleyball standout.

Josh Bradbury added 12 points and Kekoa Crowell tallied 10.

Kapena Quisano led the Tigers with 22 points on eight-of-14 shooting. He also dished out six assists.

Kalaheo 69, Aiea 47: Kahua Hollinger and Jason Tanaka scored 11 points each, and Tyler Caswell added 10 to lead the Mustangs' balanced attack.

James Hadley paced Aiea with 18 points and eight boards.

Radford 54, Roosevelt 46: Mike Davis scored 18 points as the Rams shackled the Rough Riders. Davis, a senior point guard, also grabbed seven rebounds. William Kerins scored 10 points and Juan Lewis hustled for seven caroms.

It was a mild upset for the Rams. Roosevelt is ranked No. 8 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.

Kerstan Ho scored 16 points to pace the Rough Riders. La'akea Moikeha tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Danton Balbas, one of Roosevelt's top weapons, fouled out with just two points.

Kamehameha 51, Saint Anthony 29: Ikaika Hardie's 10 points led a balanced Warrior attack against the upset-minded Trojans. Kamehameha is ranked fifth in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.

John Powley led Saint Anthony with 14 points.