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Kahuku keeps on going

The Red Raiders ride history
into the state title game

Justifying its No. 2 seed, history was on the side of Kahuku last night.

Trailing by nine at halftime, the fourth-ranked Red Raiders held Baldwin without a field goal for more than 11 minutes in the second half to help clinch the school's first appearance in the state championship game with a 60-57 victory over the Bears last night at Blaisdell Arena.

Kahuku will face the three-time defending state champion Iolani Raiders in tonight's title game at 8, while Baldwin will face Campbell in the third-place game at 6 p.m.

A crowd of 2,453, with the majority decked out in red, was on hand as the Red Raiders calmly nailed free throw after free throw down the stretch to seal the game.

Just as he was in Thursday's quarterfinal, junior Clinton Parks again was the catalyst, going 7-for-8 from the line as Kahuku finished the final quarter making 15 of its final 17 free throws.

"Coach always told me if I wanted to be a big-time player, I'd have to step up and make free throws down the stretch," Parks said. "I told coach to get me to the line and I'll knock them down."

The Bears had one final chance to tie the game at the end of regulation, but Chase Nakamura's half-court shot clanged off the back of the rim as the horn sounded.

"It looked OK," Parks said. "But we've come too far this season and I just knew we'd pull it out."

Kahuku took the lead for good in the final quarter as its mixture of full-court press and trapping zone defense befuddled Baldwin. The Bears shot just 31 percent from the field in the second half, compared to 62 percent for the Red Raiders, and scored only five points in the pivotal third quarter.

"Our defense won this game for us," Kahuku head coach Nathan James said. "They're a nice-looking ballclub and executed to perfection. I've always admired their coach and team."

After a back-and-forth first quarter, Baldwin looked ready to run away with the game in the second, pounding the ball inside. The Bears' duo of Cody Nakamura and Trenson Himalaya took control of the paint, each scoring six points to help turn a 2-point deficit into a 29-20 halftime lead.

But as quickly as Baldwin went ahead, the Red Raiders returned the favor, opening the second half with a 9-0 run as Junior Ale turned a steal into a layup to tie the game at 29. Minutes later, junior Kevin Unga drove the lane and hit a left-handed layup as time expired to push Kahuku ahead by one heading into the final quarter.

Kahuku went ahead by as many as seven in the final quarter before Baldwin mounted its last charge. A putback by Cody Nakamura and a 3-pointer by Cody Tesoro cut the lead to two. After Kahuku hit four straight free throws, Donnie Dadiz converted a jump shot and a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one.

Trailing by three with 20 seconds left, Dadiz missed a wide open 3-pointer, but Nakamura put back in the miss to cut the lead to one. However, Kevin Unga managed to sink the final pair of free throws with 2 seconds left before Nakamura's last shot.

Unga finished with a team-high 16 points and added 11 rebounds.

"Kahuku's very tough and athletic," Himalaya said. "The crowd really got to us. We've never experienced that on Maui."

Himalaya finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Bears, while Cody Nakamura poured in a game-high 17 and Tesoro scored 13 for the Maui Interscholastic League champions. Parks, meanwhile, added 11 for Kahuku despite going 2-for-11 from the field and Hayden added 10, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Baldwin (22-3)	11	18	5	23	--	57
Kahuku (23-2)	13	7	15	25	--	60

BALDWIN--Cody Tesoro 13, Scott Suzuki 0, Donnie Dadiz 9, Chase Nakamura 0, Matt Heyd 6, Cody Nakamura 17, Jordan Helle 2, Trenson Himalaya 10.
KAHUKU--Devin Unga 9, Shane Hayden 10, Josh Wily 0, Junior Ale 9, Clinton Parks 11, Kevin Unga 16, Viliami Tilini 1, Micah Wily 4.
3-point goals--Baldwin 3 (Tesoro 2, Dadiz), Kahuku 3 (Hayden 2, Ale).

FIFTH-PLACE BRACKET
Punahou 63, Kamehameha 42

Jeremiah Ostrowski scored 13 points, and Brenton Lee and Spencer McLachlin added 10 each as the Buffanblu beat the Warriors.

Ikaika Hardie scored 11 and Rykin Enos tallied 10 for sixth-ranked Kamehameha (18-11). Second-ranked Punahou (23-10) will meet Kalaheo for fifth place today at 4 p.m.

Punahou	24	10	14	15	--	63
Kamehameha	13	6	14	9	--	42

Punahou--Trenton Zane 0, Jeremiah Ostrowski 13, Brandon Kapana 2, Edward Wong 0, Danny Cho 8, River Kim 0, Brenton Lee 10, Robby Shklov 3, Ka'ohu Berg-Hee 9, Spencer McLachlin 10, Brian Matsumoto 0, Kasey Ko 6, T.J. Zabriskie 2.
Kamehameha--Keo Wright-Pacarro 0, Ikaika Hardie 11, Brandon Ahlo 0, Rykin Enos 10, Jacob Ho 2, Quincy Crowell 3, Michael Ni'i 2, Randy Cummings 0, Kahea Williams 0, Mitchell Kauweloa 0, Matthew Hoapili Jr. 0, , Kea Smith 0, Parker Bode 0, Kamalu Miller 14.
3-point goals: Punahou 7 (Ostrowski 3, Cho 2, Lee, Shklov), Kamehameha 2 (Hardie 2).

Kalaheo 55, Konawaena 49

David Moore scored 11 points and Tate Brown added 10 as the Mustangs outlasted the Wildcats in the final 2 minutes.

T.J. Akina and Max Watson scored 13 points each for seventh-ranked Konawaena (24-7), the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion.

Ninth-ranked Kalaheo (18-13) will play Punahou for fifth place today at 4 p.m.

Konawaena	10	12	10	17	--	49
Kalaheo	7	15	12	21	--	55

Konawaena--T.J. Akina 13, Sean Fujii 11, Evan Rogers 5, Tory Guillermo 4, Mana Taketa 0, Kaili Kunitomo 0, Shannon Hardie 3, Max Watson 13, Gavin Hurley 0, Shane Heinecke 0, Palea Kalili 0.
Kalaheo--David Elias 6, Chris Tumaneng 4, Jason Tanaka 6, Isaac Higa 0, Mana Guerreiro 2, Tate Brown 10, Marvin Judd 4, Chyenne Lishman 4, Jeff Whitworth 0, Chase Moses 0, David Moore 11, Cliffton Pires 7, Tyler Caswell 1.
3-point goals: Konawaena 2 (Fujii, Rogers), Kalaheo 5 (Tanaka 2, Moore 2, Brown).

CONSOLATION BRACKET
Waiakea 61, Kaimuki 48

Jon Moniz sank three treys and finished with 12 points to lead the Warriors over the Bulldogs. Thomas Pyo paced 10th-ranked Kaimuki, which finished the season 16-10.

Waiakea (24-7) will meet Kauai for the consolation title today at 2:30 p.m.

Waiakea	17	14	16	14	--	61
Kaimuki	7	18	8	15	--	48

Waiakea--Reed Akashi 0, Chad Kawazoe 0, Brent Sanbei 0, Tyler Kaneshiro 0, Jon Moniz 12, Chris Gorman 10, Scott Ichinotsubo 8, Jamie Gutierrez 5, Jordan Cabreros 6, Michael Belmes 9, Reiny Carvalho 0, Kahanu Irizarry 6, Kyle Santos 5.
Kaimuki--Kalani Ahmad 3, Keha Akau 0, Jordan Wong 6, Shaun Dela Cazada 2, Isaiah Ano 13, Thomas Pyo 13, Phillip Miyasaka 2, Beau Albrechtson 2, Jarett Shiu 5, Jonathan Torres 4, Keone Reyes 2.
3-point goals: Waiakea 5 (Moniz 3, Ichinotsubo, Belmes), Kaimuki 5 (Wong 2, Ahmad, Pyo, Shiu).