The Pahoa Daggers passed a key test in playing under pressure Wednesday night.
Despite committing 16 second-half turnovers, the Division II Daggers calmly sank 15 of its 17 free-throw attempts in the game’s final 16 minutes to leave Koai`a Gym with a 58-47 win over Kamehameha-Hawai`i, securing its first league victory of the season.
Pahoa (5-9 overall, 1-3 Big Island Interscholastic Federation) took a 30-20 lead into the locker room and was able to build it up to 13 points as the Warriors, a Division I BIIF contender, attempted to turn up the defensive heat on its opponent.
Kamehameha-Hawai`i (9-6, 2-2) put up a mixture of full-court and half-court defenses, forcing nine third quarter turnovers. That helped the Warriors to a 12-2 run to cut Pahoa’s lead to 39-36. The Daggers, however, snatched momentum right back when Joel Rosario beat the third period buzzer with a 15-foot right wing jump shot to push the lead back up to 41-36.
Pahoa was content on letting the clock run down in the second half, going just 6-for-9 from the field while attempting to avoid each trap the Warriors put on. In comparison, the Warriors shot 10-for-31 in the game’s final 16 minutes, hindering the comeback attempt.
Pahoa turned the tables by adding some pressure of its own, launching a 6-0 scoring run in the first 2:30 of the final quarter to open up a 47-36 lead on the Warriors. Kamehameha-Hawai`i cut the lead back down to four at 51-47 with two and half minutes remaining, but the Daggers scored the last seven points from the charity stripe to close it out.
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Kamehameha-Hawai`i opened up the scoring with an early free throw, but Pahoa junior Tolby Saito quickly found his rhythm, draining one of four three pointers to open a 7-0 Daggers scoring run. Kamehameha-Hawai`i answered with a 7-0 run of its own, however, to take an 8-7 lead.
Saito, who averaged 25.3 points per game entering Wednesday’s contest, would not miss in the second quarter, draining a mid-range jump shot and a pair of three pointers to help push the Daggers to its 10 point halftime advantage.
Saito finished with 20 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Keinan Agonias and Joel Rosario Jr. added 11 points while Torrell Thomas contributed 10 points.
As a team, Pahoa shot 7-for-10 from beyond the arc and 17-for-20 from the free throw line. The Daggers shot 47 percent from the field for the game.
The Warriors, playing without La`akea Manliguis, were led by Pukana Vincent’s 18 points and four rebounds. Rylan Kiko added 15 points and nine boards before fouling out of the game.
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Kamehameha-Hawai`i shot well from the free throw line, going 10-for-12 for the game. From beyond the arc, however, the Warriors shot 1-for-15. KS-Hawai`i shot 31 percent as a team from the floor.
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