Pahoa Wins Low-Scoring Duel Over KS-Hawai’i

Keinan Agonias made sure that Pahoa High School’s senior night festivities weren’t going to happen after a loss.

Agonias, a junior, scored a game-high 22 points as the Daggers defeated Kamehameha-Hawai’i in a pivotal late-season Big Island Interscholastic Federation boys basketball matchup.

For the second consective game, Pahoa’s leading scorer, Tolby Saito, was held to less than 10 points. Last Wednesday, Agonias scored 24 points while Saito was held to eight as the Daggers defeated Konawaena 46-40 in Kealakekua.

This time, Saito was limited to seven points on 3-for-11 shooting. Agonias got hot early, scoring nine points on 4-for-4 shooting in the first eight minutes, pushing Pahoa to a 16-12 first quarter lead.

Pahoa (21-2 overall, 10-1 BIIF) hit a wall in the second quarter, shooting 1-for-11 from the field, and Kamehameha-Hawai’i did just enough to take advantage. The Warriors took a 20-18 halftime lead on five points from sophomore Solomon Escalante.

The roles reversed in the third quarter. Kamehameha-Hawai’i could no longer find a rhythm from the floor, shooting 1-for-9 from the field. Agonias would take advantage, scoring all 11 of Pahoa’s points in the third quarter to put the Daggers ahead 29-23 after three quarters.

Agonias shot 9-for-15 from the field. His team shot 14-for-38 for the game, just less than 37 percent.

Kamehameha-Hawai’i (15-11, 8-3) was led by Bayley-Allen Manliguis’s eight points on 3-for-8 shooting. He only scored one point in the second half. The Warriors made just eight field goals in 36 attempts, a 22.2 percent average.

Pukana Vincent scored just one point, snapping a streak of seven consecutive games with a minimum of 10 points. He missed all five of his field goal attempts.

Kamehameha-Hawai’i’s loss, coupled with Waiakea’s one-point victory over Kealakehe, created a tie at the top of the Division I standings. Both teams are 8-3 with one game to play, and if they remain tied by season’s end, both entries into the New City Nissan/Hawai’i High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Basketball Championships will be decided in next week’s BIIF tournament.

Pahoa, meanwhile, has locked up the second spot in next week’s KTA Super Stores/BIIF Boys Basketball Tournament, held at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Kohala has clinched the top seed, and a win against Honoka’a will lock up the outright BIIF Division II regular season championship and punch the Cowboys’ ticket to Oahu.

Kamehameha-Hawai’i 12 8 3 5 – 28

Pahoa 16 2 11 6 – 35

BIIF Boys Basketball Scoreboard

Pahoa 35, Kamehameha-Hawai’i 28

Kohala 61, Hawai’i Preparatory Academy 48

Waiakea 52, Kealakehe 51

Honoka’a 64, Ka’u 56

Kea’au 49, St. Joseph 45

Konawaena 50, Hilo 34

BIIF Division I Standings

Kamehameha-Hawai’i 8-3

Waiakea 8-3

Konawaena 6-5

Kealakehe 5-6

Kea’au 4-7

Hilo 2-9

BIIF Division II Standings

Kohala 11-0

Pahoa 10-1

Hawai’i Prep 9-2

Honoka’a 4-7

St. Joseph 3-8

Ka’u 1-10

Laupahoehoe 1-11