KS-Hawaii Survives Wild Second Half to Defeat Kohala

Pukana Vincent and Micah Carter were able to reprise their roles from last Thursday’s thrilling victory against Hilo for senior night Wednesday against Kohala.

Carter hit a game-tying three pointer and a go-ahead free throw while Vincent reached the 30 point mark for the second consecutive game as the Warriors outlasted Kohala 74-71 at Koai`a Gym.

Kohala (11-9 overall, 7-3 Big Island Interscholastic Federation) took a 71-68 lead with just over 30 seconds remaining when junior Justin Agbayani drained a three pointer after a controversial foul. The Warriors hurried up the floor after the shot, getting an open look for Carter from the top of the arc, which went in with 24 seconds remaining.

Agbayani, however, was down on the ground, and Kohala had no one left to come into the game. Kealen Figueroa, Shawn Ray Ramos, Hana Carvalho, and Mikala Jordan had each fouled out in the final quarter, and head coach Don Fernandez had no one left on his bench to sub in.

Fernandez pleaded his case to one of the officials, who allowed Agbayani to immediately return to the game. High school rules, however, state that the injured player is supposed to sit out until the next dead ball and the Cowboys should have played with four players until the next whistle.

Sensing a weakness in its opponent, Kamehameha-Hawai`i set up a trap as Kohala brought in the basketball after the injury. The Warriors sagged back in a zone, but as soon as the Cowboys got across the halfcourt, KS-Hawai`i sent players at full speed toward the dribbler to force a turnover, which it got. Micah Carter was fouled and split a pair of free throws to put the Warriors ahead by one.

That same defensive approach forced a second turnover. Bayley-Allen Manliguis drained a pair of free throws after the foul to extend the Warriors’ lead to 74-71 with six seconds remaining.

Kohala still had a chance. After beating the press, Bronson Fuertes had an open look at the top of the arc, but his three-pointer before the buzzer missed off the back of the rim, ending the game.

Both teams played at a break-neck pace with a mix of full-court and half-court traps employed through out the game. Kamehameha-Hawai`i had the easiest time with Kohala’s full court press and led much of the way in the first half because of it.

Kamehameha-Hawai`i (13-8, 6-4) led 31-20 midway through the second quarter before the Cowboys tightened up its defense, forcing six second period turnovers and turning it into a 14-0 scoring run that put the Cowboys ahead 34-31 at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to Vincent, who scored 30 last Thursday against Hilo. The sophomore scored 15 points without missing a single shot in the period to help push the Warriors to a 54-50 advantage. Vincent shot 4-for-4 from the field, drained his only three pointer of the period, and was 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

Vincent finished the game with 32 points, shooting 9-for-16 from the field, 13-for-14 from the foul line, and tallying nine rebounds. Manliguis added 15 points, while Rylan Kiko contributed eight points and six rebounds.

The Warriors shot 22-for-41 (.537) from the field and 27-39 from the free throw line.

Jordan scored 24 points and hauled in eight rebounds for the Cowboys before fouling out. Figueroa added 18 points and six steals while Agbayani poured in 13 with 11 of those points coming in the second half.

The Cowboys committed 20 turnovers, three less than Kamehameha-Hawai`i, but committed twice as many fouls, 28 to 14, as their opponent.

Kohala 15 19 16 21 – 71

Kamehameha-Hawai`i 18 13 23 20 – 74

Wednesday’s BIIF boys basketball scores

Hilo 92, Honoka`a 70

Konawaena 56, Kea`au 45

Kealakehe 46, Pahoa 37

Waiakea 70, Ka`u 34

Hawai`i Preparatory Academy 60, St. Joseph 37