Trinity Christian Dominates Kea`au in Hilo Tourney Opener

Trinity Christian wasted little time in advancing to the semifinals of the Hilo High School Holiday Prep Classic Thursday.

The Tigers, hailing from Cedar Hill, Tex., exploded past Kea`au High School 69-17 to open up the annual tournament, held at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. The game took just an hour and three minutes to complete.

Kea`au (2-3 overall, 0-0 BIIF) didn’t make it easy for the Tigers early. Edgar Ventura and Isiah Segobia combined for 16 first half rebounds, and the Cougars held a 24-20 advantage in the rebounding department by halftime.

The Cougars didn’t make it easy on themselves, either. Kea`au turned the ball over 17 times in the first half and shot just 3-for-22 in the first 16 minutes. Kea`au shot 5-for-34 for the game.

Trinity Christian (6-4) was led by 6-foot-9 forward Albert Owens, who scored 16 points and rocked the rim with a contested, right-handed dunk in the first half. Owens also hit two three-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds.

Isaiah Harwell followed with 13 points and three treys. Harwell shot 5-for-9 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds. Jon Cole scored 10 points and dished out four assists. He scored six second quarter points off of turnovers.

Segobia led Kea`au with six points. Ventura followed with four points and 11 rebounds.

Kea`au 6 3 5 3 – 17

Trinity Christian 16 20 21 12 – 69

Hilo High School Holiday Prep Classic scoreboard

Thursday’s scores

Trinity Christian 69, Kea`au 17

Waiakea 73, Pahoa 49

Lahainaluna 57, Kamehameha-Hawai`i 30

Hilo 64, Kohala 53

Friday’s schedule

Kea`au vs. Pahoa – 3:30 p.m.

Kamehameha-Hawai`i vs. Kohala – 5:00 p.m.

Trinity Christian vs. Waiakea – 6:30 p.m.

Lahainaluna vs. Hilo – 8:00 p.m.