Cardinal Classic Recap: Hilo Wins Title on Buzzer Beater

When Jalen Carvalho is in a groove, he is difficult to silence.

The senior sharp-shooter drained a three-pointer that beat the overtime buzzer to knock down cross-town rival Waiakea Saturday in the championship game of the St. Joseph School Cardinal Classic. The final score was 67-64.

Carvalho averaged 30.7 points per game during the three day tournament, held at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. He scored 23 points in Friday’s semifinal victory against the Ka`u Trojans and 22 in Thursday’s tournament opener against Kealakehe.

Hilo finished its non-league schedule with an 8-2 record. The Vikings open the regular season at home against Hawai`i Preparatory Academy on Jan. 3. The game can be heard on ESPN Radio and ESPNHawaii.com.

Third place game: Ka`u 58, Honoka`a 54

The Ka`u Trojans are looking to show the Big Island that they will be a tougher opponent to bring down this season.

Ka`u improved its non-league record to 4-6 with the narrow victory over Honoka`a. It’s the second time the Trojans have gotten a victory over the Dragons. On Nov. 28, Ka`u walked out of Honoka`a High School with a narrow 65-63 during the Honoka`a Boys Basketball Tournament.

It’s the fourth time that Ka`u has played a game that has been decided by five points or less. The Trojans have won three of those games.

Honoka`a fell to 3-10 in non-league play.

Fifth place: Pahoa 60, St. Joseph 41

After a sluggish start, the Pahoa Daggers cleaned up the glass and tore up the nets from beyond the three-point line to take fifth place at the Cardinal Classic.

Tolby Saito came off of the bench and scored 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He also drained four of his six three point attempts and grabbed nine rebounds.

Forward Spencer Stroschein took advantage of foul trouble to teammate Torrell Thomas and and accumulated a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Stroschein also drained a three, one of seven made by the Daggers during the game.

Pahoa’s domination against a short-handed was evident in the rebounding battle. Pahoa out-rebounded the Cardinals 31-10.

St. Joseph (3-7), who played without Cole DeSilva, shot 12-for-29 from the field and 15-for-27 from the free throw line. Ben Uhlmann led the Cardinals with 17 points and four rebounds. Michael Silva added 13 points.

Pahoa wrapped up the non-league campaign with a 4-6 record.

Seventh Place: Kohala 62, Kealakehe 57

Mikala Jordan’s 23-point afternoon was nearly erased by a gritty Kealakehe squad that nearly completed a comeback from a 17-point halftime deficit. The Waveriders got within two points of completing the comeback, but the Cowboys were able to gain enough of a cushion late to secure its only victory of the tournament.

Jordan shot 3-for-8 from the beyond the arc and 10-for-19 overall from the field. He also grabbed eight rebounds. The Cowboys drained seven treys on the evening.

Kealakehe (3-10) showed off its size advantage in the second half to crawl back in the game. Blaine Broberg dropped 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Kalani Lewi scored 13 points, all in the second half, to lead the comeback charge.

Kealakehe, who used its junior varsity team in Friday’s loss against St. Joseph, fell to Kohala for the second time in the preseason.

Hana Carvalho scored 11 for Kohala while Justin Agbayani and Justin Ray Ramos added 10 each. The Cowboys improved to 4-6 in non-league play.