Honoka’a Decimates Pahoa in BIIF DII Semis

Photo by Josh Pacheco.

Honoka’a High School’s boys basketball team has taken Jayme Carvalho’s fast-paced mentality to heart.

Even in a game that was often slowed by numerous fouls on both ends, Honoka’a channeled that energy into a swarming defense, forcing mistakes and transition opportunities. The Dragons pulled away from Pahoa by the final score of 65-43 in the Division II semifinals of the KTA Super Stores/Big Island Interscholastic Federation Boys Basketball Championships.

The game was called with 44 seconds left by referee Mason Souza after an intentional foul was called on Pahoa, who was playing with three players on the floor after six other players fouled out. Two Dragons fouled out as well in a game that saw the officials call 72 fouls between the two teams. A pair of intentional fouls were called against the Daggers, and Honoka’a was given a technical foul for taunting.

As you would expect, the large number of fouls equaled a number of free throw attempts on each side, something that burned Pahoa throughout the game. The Daggers shot 6-for-18 from the free throw line in the first half and 15-for-28 in the second half, leaving 25 points off of the board because of missed foul shots. The combined 21-for-46 free throw mark left Pahoa with a disappointing 45.6 percentage mark from what is supposed to be called the “charity stripe.”

Honoka’a (19-7 overall, 9-4 BIIF) was better from the line until the final quarter, but ended the game shooting 29-for-53 from the line, a 54.7 percent clip.

Free throws didn’t determine the outcome of the game, however, for Honoka’a. Carvalho employed constant pressure on Pahoa by putting on a zone press every time the Daggers tried to bring the ball up the floor. Once across half court, multiple double teams were put into play to try to force bad passes and turnovers. It largely worked, with Pahoa giving the ball away 20 times.

More importantly, Pahoa did not get a lot of clean looks from the perimeter, thanks to tough defense from Honoka’a’s guards. Despite being down all game, Pahoa only managed five shot attempts from beyond the arc, hitting just two of them. And Keinan Agonias, Pahoa’s best outside shooter, was held to just six points on 1-for-3 shooting. He was disqualified due to fouls with just under 2:50 remaining in the game.

Senior Jonathan Charbonneau was the steady force for Honoka’a. He scored a game-high 15 points, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and shooting 9-for-14 from the free throw line. Junior Kelvin Falk added 10 points and three treys, including two in the third quarter to push the Daggers away.

Pahoa (9-11, 5-8) was led by Vijay Julian, who scored 12 points and shot 6-for-13 from the free throw line. Joel Rosario Jr. added 11 points and two treys.

Honoka’a already clinched a berth into next week’s OC16/Hawai’i High School Athletic Association Division II Boys Basketball Championship by winning the BIIF regular season championship. The Dragons will face St. Joseph, who knocked off Hawai’i Preparatory Academy at the buzzer with a Manato Fukuda layup to earn a ticket to states, for the BIIF Division II championship and the top league berth next week.

KTA Super Stores/BIIF Boys Basketball Championship scoreboard

(all games at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium)

Division II

Honoka’a 65, Pahoa 43

St. Joseph 42, Hawai’i Prep 41

Division I

Waiakea 68, Hilo 66

Konawaena 44, Kamehameha-Hawai’i 42

Saturday

Division II championship: St. Joseph vs. Honoka’a – 6 p.m.

Division I championship: Konawaena vs. Waiakea – 8 p.m.