Kamehameha-Hawai’i squandered away a chance to clinch the outright Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I regular season championship and lock up a spot in the New City Nissan/Hawai’i High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Championships during the final week of the regular season.
Despite an early struggle from the field, the Warriors punched their ticket to states and a spot in Saturday night’s KTA Super Stores/BIIF Division I Boys Basketball Championship Game with a 51-32 win over Kealakehe at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Kamehameha-Hawai’i (16-12 overall, 9-4 BIIF), the top seed in the tournament, shot just 7-for-20 (35 percent) in the first half, but picked up a scoring jolt from Pukana Vincent, who scored eight of his 14 points in the quarter.
Kealakehe (11-13, 6-7), on the other hand, couldn’t find consistency on offense, shooting 4-for-19 in the first half and giving the ball away 12 times. It didn’t get much better for the Waveriders, as they shot 10-for-41 for the game and turned the ball over 20 times.
The Warriors’ scoring tandem of Vincent and Bayley-Allen Manliguis pushed the team through its early offensive woes. Manliguis scored a game high 18 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the floor. He also grabbed five rebounds, one less than Vincent’s six, which was a team high.
Jonah Kaulia scored a team-best 12 points for fourth-seeded Kealakehe off of the bench to go along with six rebounds. The Waveriders outrebounded Kamehameha-Hawai’i 24-19, led by Blaine Broberg’s eight boards, but struggled to convert inside baskets when second-chance opportunities arose.
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Kealakehe 5 7 12 8 – 32
Kamehameha-Hawai’i 5 15 15 16 – 51
Young Wildcats Hold Off Waiakea
In Friday night’s Division I nightcap, a mix of experience and youth guided Konawaena to a state tournament berth and a spot in Saturday night’s Division I championship game.
Senior Kevin Medeiros scored 12 points and freshman Austin Ewing added 11 as the Wildcats knocked off Waiakea 53-48.
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Medeiros was the catalyst for Donny Awa’s Wildcats early on, scoring ten of his points in the first half. Waiakea kept pace, thanks to Cameron Carvalho-Chinen’s 10 bench points in the first half. Carvalho-Chinen shot 4-for-5 from the field in the first 16 minutes and hit both of his free throw attempts.
The game came to a screeching halt a few minutes into the second quarter when Louie Ondo was hurt trying to make a hustle play. Ondo went to chase down a long rebound near the sideline, lunging off the ground to keep the ball in play. When he landed, his head hit the wooden facing of the first row of seats, causing a bloody gash to open up above his eye. The junior was taken to the hospital for further examination.
Waiakea (17-10, 8-5), seeded second, rode the shoulders of Calvin Mattos in the second half. The sophomore scored 17 points in the final few quarters, shooting 8-for-12 in the half to lead to a 23 point performance.
Mattos’ night was not enough to propel the Warriors to victory. Junior Cameron Howes, described as the third-seeded Wildcats’ vocal leader, scored six of his 10 points in the final frame and the Wildcats went 6-for-8 from the free throw line near the end to hold off the experienced Warriors.
Konawaena (15-10, 7-6) committed 19 turnovers, but out-hustled Waiakea in the final quarter, taking a 13-5 rebounding advantage in the period and leading to a 27-17 rebounding victory. Medeiros led his team with seven boards.
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The Division I championship game will be played at 7:30 p.m. at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Prior to that, Kohala and Pahoa will battle for the Division II championship. Tip for the fist game is slated for 6 p.m.
Both games will be aired on ESPN Radio and ESPNHawaii.com.
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