Kian Kurokawa scored 14 points and Jason Genegabus added 13 to lead eighth-ranked Hilo past Pahoa 55-22 in Big Island Interscholastic Federation regular season play at Pahoa High School.
Hilo (13-3, 2-0 BIIF), ranked eighth in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10 Poll, opened the game up on an 8-2 run in the first six minutes of the game and a 10-3 run to end the first quarter. Genegabus led a quick offensive attack, beating Pahoa’s defense down the floor several times for easy layups. On the other end, Pahoa shot 1-for-10 in the first quarter, including 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, a theme that would last the entire game.
Pahoa (7-5, 1-2 BIIF) struggled to take care of the basketball against Hilo’s stingy perimeter defense. The Daggers gave the ball away 14 times in the second quarter, half of the 28 they lost for the entire game. That affected the amount of shot opportunities they had, shooting only 1-for-6 in the entire quarter while the Vikings got 12 more shot attempts. Hilo took a 25-8 lead to the halftime break.
Hilo head coach Jason Mandaquit had his team dialed back in the second half, opting for better ball movement and spacing to lead to open layups. That opened up Hilo’s Jodd Carter for an eight-point quarter, using the threat of his solid outside shot to draw defenders out of position and opening the lane to the rim for layups and floaters.
Once again, Hilo’s perimeter defense hassled Pahoa’s inexperienced guards, forcing seven more turnovers to keep the Daggers out of reach. The Vikings took a 40-14 lead to the end of the third quarter, and Mandaquit had gone to the deepest depths of the bench to give lots of playing time to those who don’t often see the floor.
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The fourth quarter was dominated by free throw shooting on both ends. Kurokawa went 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter, leading the Vikings to a 9-for-10 quarter from the line. Hilo shot 13-for-15 from the charity stripe for the game. Pahoa’s Joel Rosario shot 4-for-4 from the foul line in the quarter, all on technical foul free throws. For the game, his team shot 8-of-19 from the line. Rosario hit six of those eight free throws.
Nick Fisher scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Pahoa High School.
Both teams played without their best shooters. Hilo’s Jalen Carvalho remains out with a fracture in a bone in his right foot. Mandaquit said Wednesday night that he has been cleared to Rehab and is likely a week or two away from returning to action. Meanwhile, Pahoa’s Tolby Saito, son of head coach Mark Saito, did not play for undisclosed.reasons.
Hilo hosts Ka`u on Friday at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. The Daggers travel to Waiakea High School that same day to visit the Warriors.
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