Ugly win pretty enough for Kalaheo

DIVISION I

Fortunately for Kalaheo, all that matters at this time of the year is the final score.

Despite shooting a paltry 43 percent from the free-throw line and committing 19 turnovers, the fifth-ranked Mustangs held on to defeat Honokaa 47-37 yesterday in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships at McKinley's Student Council gym.

Kalaheo (13-3) did not have a player score in double figures, but held the Dragons (14-3) to 24 percent shooting as the Mustangs advanced to face fourth-seeded Kamehameha-Maui in tonight's quarterfinal game at 6.

"No matter how badly we played today, we're still in better shape than the other team," Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado said. "Honokaa came out and brought the intensity and we had to persevere."

The Mustangs, who were coming off a tough loss to Kaimuki in the OIA championship game, started slowly, converting just one of their first six shots. Fortunately for them, the Dragons weren't any better, as they only hit on two of 14 field-goal attempts in the first quarter as Kalaheo still managed a 12-5 lead after the first 8 minutes.

The second quarter wasn't any better for either team, but the Mustangs managed to close out strong, as Taylor Jay banked in a 3-pointer to give Kalaheo a 20-12 halftime lead. Honokaa finished 4-for-26 from the field in the first half, but was kept in the game thanks in large part to the Mustangs' free-throw shooting. Kalaheo made just one of seven shots from the charity stripe.

"Obviously we came out sloppy and need to change that if we're going to keep winning," Kalaheo's Cliffton Pires said. "We want to put up a banner in our gym real bad and to do that, we've got to cut down on the mistakes."

Pires, Chase Moses and Cheynne Lishman, all starters and integral parts of the Mustangs' squad, were held scoreless in the first half, but combined for all 11 of Kalaheo's points in the third quarter as the Mustangs led by as many as 12 in the period. The Dragons closed the quarter with a 3-pointer from Komokana Fernandez and a disputed putback at the buzzer by Damian Sabater-Hart that definitely came after the horn sounded.

"Like I said, we had to persevere so much throughout this game," Furtado said. "I hate to be sour grapes, but it's tough when you have one referee counting shots with no time on the clock and another who doesn't even use his whistle."

Fernandez, who scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half, opened the final quarter with another 3-pointer to cut Kalaheo's lead to four. But the Dragons wouldn't get any closer, as Cody vonAppen and Lishman combined to hit six of eight free throws down the stretch, while the Dragons missed 13 of their final 16 shots.

"We've been off the past couple of games and our shots haven't been going down," Mustangs center Tyler Caswell said. "We were able to stay focused and got the stops we needed."

Caswell led the Mustangs with eight points and 13 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Pires added seven points and nine boards as the Mustangs outrebounded Honokaa 40-30.

Lishman, who was Kalaheo's leading scorer in the regular season, averaging more than 15 points a game, was held to seven points on 2-for-5 shooting.

"Teams have really started to put the clamp on Cheynne late in the season and we need to help him stay confident and composed," Furtado said. "I hate to think that we're a one-man show, but I've had to battle for balance with this team all year."

At McKinley H.S. gym

Honokaa (14-3)	5	7	12	13	--	37
Kalaheo (13-3)	12	8	11	16	--	47

HONOKAA--Komakana Fernandez 16, Keala Freitas 6, Justen Raquel 0, Kapanai'i Carvahlo 6, Kien Aveiro 1, Christian Cook 2, Damian Sabater-Hart 4, Shelton Kalilikane 0 , Mika Nickel 2.

KALAHEO--Alika Kaanapu 2, Cody vonAppen 5, Koa Siliga 7, Taylor Jay 6, Larry Soto 0, Keano Bruhn 0, Bruce Andrews 2, Tyler Caswell 8, Cheynne Lishman 7, Chase Moses 1, Cliffton Pires 7, D.J. Chung 0, Aaron Fernandez 2.

3-point goals -- Honoka'a 4 (Fernandez 4), Kalaheo 4 (Jay 2, Lishman, Siliga).

Moanalua 73, Radford 71, OT

Stevie Austin scored the game-winning layup with 5 seconds left in overtime and Na Menehune overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 40 seconds of regulation to pull off a stunning comeback.

Moanalua advanced to tonight's quarterfinal game against top-seeded Punahou at 8. Na Menehune coach Greg Tacon and Buffanblu coach Dan Hale will face the teams they coached last season.

"There was no rhyme or reason to this; this one has no explanation to this," a wide-eyed Tacon said after the game. "The Punahou thing was very tough for me and to have it go this way, it just has to be fate."

Na Menehune took a 46-44 lead into the fourth quarter, which saw three ties and six lead changes. A jumper by Gary Satterwhite ignited an 11-0 run by the Rams late in the fourth quarter that gave them a 63-53 lead with 1:06 remaining.

"I didn't think we had any gas in the tank at that point," Tacon said. "I was already preparing that speech in the locker room telling the kids how great of a year it has been and how to pick their spirits up."

After the two teams traded baskets, Moanalua got a 3-pointer by Austin and two free throws from Casey Schuler to make it a five-point game. Na Menehune forced the Rams into another turnover and Jay Yoshizawa converted a 3-point play to make the game 65-63 with 8 seconds left.

Radford's Soosoo Tauleilei missed two free throws with 7 seconds left and a bad foul by Travis Daniels gave Austin two free throws with 4 seconds that he converted to tie the game at 65 and send it into overtime.

No team led by more than two in overtime, as every Moanalua basket was answered by a Radford bucket until Austin's game-winner. Daniels took a 3-pointer from about 35 feet at the buzzer but it came up short.

Austin finished with a game-high 24 points for Moanalua, while Josh Kure added 20. The Rams were led by 18 points from Satterwhite and 17 points from Daniels, and Antonio Williams had a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

At McKinley H.S. gym

Moanalua (12-5)	17	18	11	19	8	--	73
Radford (11-6)	13	17	14	21	6	--	71

MOANALUA--Jay Yoshizawa 8, Stevie Austin 24, Josh Kure 20, Roshawn Terry 0, Ryan Hua 5, Kris Lazarou 5, Rob Munoz 2, Casey Schuler 9, Shawn Richey 0, AJ Kirkman 0.

RADFORD--Travis Daniels 17, Justin Lord 4, Gary Satterwhite 18, Antonio Williams 12, Soosoo Tauleilei 8, Matt Hoover 8, Jared Brown 2, Matt Alofaituli 2, Aldrin Valdez 0.

3-point goals -- Moanalua 8 (Austin 2, Kure 2, Hua, Lazarou, Yoshizawa, Schuler), Radford 3 (Hoover 2, Satterwhite).