Pape fills the star role

Iolani's dominance on its way to three consecutive state titles from 2002 to 2004 was largely attributed to having all-everything Derrick Low running the show.

But with Low's departure to the barren land known as Pullman, Wash., the Raiders began defense of their three-year championship run this season in unfamiliar territory.

Enter Kyle Pape.

In a year that Iolani was going to have to rely on its "One Team" concept more than ever, Pape's performance in the 2005 Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Tournament showed that despite popular opinion, Iolani once again was led by a superstar. However, neither Pape nor his coaches or teammates would flat-out say it.

"I wouldn't call myself a superstar," Pape said after cutting down the net. "Every year is a team effort."

However, the numbers don't lie. Finishing with a "modest" 27 points in the championship game after scoring more than 30 in the first two, Pape finished the tournament averaging 31 points per game, shooting better than 50 percent from the field and 93 percent from the free-throw line. It earned him the Most Outstanding Player award.

"He stepped up for us on the court and as a great leader," guard Vinny Nip said. "He was our go-to guy and showed it in this tournament. He put up some points."

Pape's monster second-half performances in the first two games allowed Iolani to overcome halftime deficits. The senior made sure last night wouldn't be a come-from-behind repeat.

He scored 13 points in the first half to help give the Raiders a 32-19 lead at the break. Nearly held without a point in the third quarter, Pape scored four points in the final 24 seconds, after the Red Raiders had cut the lead to eight, to give Iolani a double-digit advantage heading into the final period.

"Kyle's just a pure shooter," Raiders head coach Mark Mugiishi said. "He got a lot of his shots off the screens and dirty work the rest of our kids did. He stepped up tremendously."

His value to the team isn't just about the statistics however. Pulling away early in the fourth, junior Kekai Kealoha, who doesn't see a lot of playing time, took a steal coast-to-coast for a layup. On his way back down the court, Kealoha was met with a giant chest-bump by Pape, excited his teammate was able to score.

"I really was the only guy that had played a lot and had the experience of playing in states," Pape said. "During the game I'd try to use that experience to tell them what to do, and just make sure they knew we got here doing this together."

Pape did all of this while matched up for the majority of the game on defense with Kahuku's Junior Ale. Considered by many to be the OIA's best player, Ale was held to just eight points on 3-for-9 shooting.

Instead of talking about his performance, or being state champions after the game, Pape instead chose to talk about something that wouldn't be on the mind of many people after a performance like the one he gave.

"This team is going to be real good against next year," Pape said. "We're only losing three seniors, so they've got a great chance to do it again."

However, one of those seniors is Pape. And while the people associated with Iolani basketball might not agree, as the final seconds ticked off the clock last night in the 17th and final game of this year's state tournament, the shadow of Derrick Low slowly disappeared one final time, replaced by the emerging legacy of No. 30.

Iolani 63, Kahuku 51

Red Raiders (22-3)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Unga, D.	6	11	2	3	29	12	1	14
Hayden	4	14	0	0	26	1	1	11
Wily, J.	1	3	0	0	12	1	0	2
Ale	3	9	1	1	30	5	1	8
Parks	3	11	1	1	22	3	2	7
Unga, K.	2	5	3	8	26	8	2	7
Teo	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
Tilini	1	1	0	0	8	4	0	2
Wily, M.	0	0	0	0	7	0	1	0
TEAM						3
Totals	20	54	7	13	160	37	8	51
Raiders (29-2)
	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Young	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
Nip	4	11	0	0	32	4	2	9
Kang	0	0	1	2	12	0	0	1
Dung	0	2	5	6	18	3	0	5
Morikuni	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
Mounts	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
Kealoha	1	1	0	0	2	0	1	2
Shoji	2	8	2	2	32	7	3	6
Pape	7	15	12	14	32	4	1	27
Takamura	1	1	0	1	12	3	1	2
Eberlin	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	1
Yama	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
Marciel	4	5	1	4	17	6	2	9
Kepoo	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
TEAM						2
Totals	19	43	22	31	160	29	10	62
Kahuku	9	10	13	19	--	51
Iolani	17	16	10	20	--	63

Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
3-point goals--Kahuku 4-20 (Hayden 3-12, Ale 1-5, Parks 0-1, Unga, D. 0-2), Iolani 2-9 (Pape 1-5, Nip 1-3, Shoji 0-1). Blocks--Kahuku 1 (Unga, K.), Iolani 0. Assists--Kahuku 8 (Parks 2, Unga 2, M. Wily, D. Unga, Hayden, Ale), Iolani 10 (Shoji 3, Marciel 2, Nip 2, Kealoha, Pape, Takamura).
Steals--Kahuku 3 (Tilini, D. Unga, Ale), Iolani 7 (Nip 2, Shoji 2, Kealoha, Pape, Marciel). Turnovers--Kahuku 17 (Parks 4, D. Unga 4, K. Unga 3, Hayden 2, Ale 2, M. Wily, J. Wily), Iolani 10 (Dung 2, Nip 2, Takamura 2, Kang, Pape, Marciel, TEAM).
Personal fouls--Kahuku 24, Iolani 16. Officials--Thomas Yoshida, Ryan Sueoka, Clifford Rodrigues. A--4,205.