Jonah Bredeson’s layup with less than a minute left led Konawaena to a come-from-behind victory over Waiakea in the Division I semifinals of the KTA Super Stores / Big Island Interscholastic Federation Boys Basketball Tournament.
The Wildcats defeated Waiakea 59-58 in front of a loud crowd at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, with many fans from West Hawai`i traveling over to watch the seventh-ranked Konawaena High School basketball team try to earn a spot in the league championship and the state tournament.
Bredeson’s layup came with 16 seconds remaining to take the lead. But, the Warriors had one last chance to force overtime. Lucas St. George was fouled underneath the basket with five seconds left on the clock. The junior post player hit the first free throw but missed the second free throw. Konawaena’s Brenton Shropshire grabbed the rebound and got the outlet pass out before Waiakea could foul, letting the time expire.
Konawaena (26-3, 11-0) got a game high 25 points from Nick Mims, who hit his first four shots from the field and scored 11 points in the first quarter. He also nailed three treys in the contest. Mims dropped 16 points in the first half, but his team was only able to stay ahead by one, 29-28, at the halftime break.
Waiakea (14-9, 10-4) drained six three point shots in the first half to lead an offensive attack that did not feature one singluar scorer. In the second half, however, Waiakea only went 1-for-4 from beyond the arc, and eight turnovers in the fourth quarter helped aid the Wildcats in their comeback victory.
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Owen Sandstrom scored seven of his team high 11 points in the fourth quarter to lead Waiakea, while St. George added 10 points.
Waiakea 15 13 14 16 – 58
Konawaena 15 14 8 18 – 59
Kamehameha-Hawaii 65, Hilo 59
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Blaine-Allen Manliguis scored 20 points, including a string of four consecutive three point shots, to lead Kamehameha-Hawai`i to a 65-59 upset win over Hilo, the East’s top seed in the Division I tournament.
Hilo (21-6, 10-3), the tenth ranked team in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 poll, played without sharpshooter Jodd Carter, who was dressed and cleared to play but did not reach the floor in his recovery from a fibula injury. The junior’s absence left a scoring void, especially from the perimeter, that was difficult to fill.
There was no void from distance for the Warriors, especially from junior Blaine-Allen Manliguis. He hit four consecutive threes in the second quarter and finished with a game high 20 points. Ilikai Calip added a pair of treys and finished with 17 points.
Kamehameha-Hawai`i (15-11, 9-4) led by as much as 11 points over the Vikings, but couldn’t hold on to the lead late. Hilo took the lead with just over five minutes remaining when Jacob Genegabus hit a running field goal from point blank range to take a 49-48 lead.
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The lead extended to three before Micah Carter tied the game with a three pointer on the next trip down the floor. A Rylan Kiko layup gave the Warriors the lead back with close to three minutes remaining.
Hilo’s Jalen Carvalho and Drew Kell each scored 15 points in the losing effort. Carvalho hit three shots from beyond the arc, all in the second quarter, but spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench while his team tried to comeback from a 46-44 third quarter deficit.
The Warriors will face Konawaena for the Division I championship at 7:30 p.m. at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. The contest can be heard on ESPN Radio and ESPNHawaii.com
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