HondaReport.com - Boys' Basketball: Iolani, Mililani, Kalaheo, Punahou in state semifinals

Boys' Basketball: Iolani, Mililani, Kalaheo, Punahou in state semifinals

The favorites won Thursday night in the quarterfinal round of the Hawaiian Airlines Boys’ Basketball State Championships. That means Iolani, Mililani, Kalaheo and Punahou reached the semifinals, which begin 7 p.m. Friday night.

Iolani, the top seed and season-long No. 1-ranked team, meets Mililani, followed by Kalaheo and Punahou at 8:30 p.m.

A crowd of 2,074 endured stormy conditions to arrive in the comfy confines of Blaisdell Arena. They saw all four quarterfinal games finish with double-digit margins, setting the stage for what could be a memorable Friday night.

Iolani toppled Kaimuki, 63-41, turning a four-point game into a rout in the second half.

Kalaheo nearly blew a 20-point lead, but held on for a 55-44 win over Kamehameha-O’ahu.

Mililani withstood all Kealakehe had to offer, pulling away in the final minutes for a 72-62 win.

Friday’s schedule:
McKinley vs. Waiakea, consolation, 1:45 p.m.
Kaimuki vs. Kealakehe, 3:30 p.m.
Kamehameha-O’ahu vs. Maui, 5:15 p.m.
Iolani vs. Mililani, semifinal, 7 p.m.
Kalaheo vs. Punahou, semifinal, 8:15 p.m.

Kalaheo 55, Kamehameha-O’ahu 44—When Kalaheo head coach Chico Furtado mentions storms, he’s not necessarily referring to the weather soaking O’ahu this week.

He’s talking about Kalaheo’s hairy win over the Warriors. “We were able to weather the storm,” he said after Kamehameha cut a 20-point Kalaheo lead down to four in the fourth quarter. Kalaheo eventually regrouped and earned its way into the semifinal round.

Sam Wilhoite scored 18 points and hauled down 11 rebounds, and the second-ranked Mustangs fought off a scintillating rally by the Warriors.

William Elliott added 14 points and Theo Fujita tallied 10 for Kalaheo (23-5, 14-1 OIA).

Quincy Crowell paced Kamehameha-O’ahu (11-7), the third-place team from the ILH, with 11 points.

“We made a few bad decisions, but give Kalaheo credit. They must’ve shot 90 percent in the first half,” Kamehameha head coach Jesse Nakanishi said. Kalaheo actually shot 48 percent, but 5-of-10 accuracy from the 3-point line was tough to stop.

“We’re typically a slow-starting team. I’m proud of them for coming back,” Nakanishi said.

With the Warrior defense collapsing and harassing Wilhoite on the low post, the other Mustangs stepped up. Elliott scored seven points in the first five minutes—Fujita and Elliott opened the game with consecutive 3-pointers—as Kalaheo took a 13-0 lead.

By the time Wilhoite got involved by scoring nine points in a row, Kalaheo led 25-5 with 3:31 left in the second quarter.

“When you get a big lead early, you have to know that all these teams in the state tournament are here for a reason,” Furtado said.

The Warriors unleashed full-court man pressure and cut the margin to 13 points after Crowell drained the first of his three treys. Kalaheo led at intermission, 32-17.

Waika Spencer, Kamehameha’s 6-4 junior center, had just two points and three rebounds, along with 1-of-7 shooting from the field against a swarming Kalaheo defense.

His post play, however, improved significantly in the second half, helping to trigger a monumental comeback.

“We had some comebacks early in the season, and in preseason, and we reminded them of that,” Nakanishi said.

Down 42-26, the Warriors returned to full-court pressure, and this time, it paid dividends.

Kalaheo, trying to kill time, failed to score in the final 3:33 of the third quarter. Kamehameha went on a 6-0 run, helped by Fujita’s trip to the bench after committing a fourth personal foul. “We went into our offense for layups only, but stuff happens,” Furtado said.

After Spencer powered his way for a low-post bucket, the Warriors were down 44-40 with 3:53 to play in the game. “They hit some shots and established their defense,” Furtado said. “You gotta credit their defense.”

The 14-2 run fizzled, however. Kalaheo regrouped and got the ball to Wilhoite for two baskets in a row under the basket. Crowell, 3-of-3 from the arc, sank his final 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining.

Leading 48-43, Kalaheo spread the floor and played keep away. The Mustangs sank four free throws in a row thanks to Fujita and David Moore. That stretched the lead to 52-43 with 45 seconds left, and Crowell fouled out at that point.

Kamehameha got no closer than eight the rest of the way. “Crowell has been a nice surprise for us late in the season,” Nakanishi said of the sharpshooting junior. “He can really shoot the rock, and that’s testament to his work ethic.”

Furtado was even more surprised. “Number 20? I didn’t even recognize him,” Furtado said of Crowell.

The matchup between the Warriors and Mustangs promises to be one of many in the near future between the two prominent programs—and their first-year head coaches. “They play physical. The Nakanishi boys played that way, and they coach that way,” Furtado said of both Jesse, the head coach, and assistant Julian, his twin brother.

Iolani 63, Kaimuki 41—Those who still think the Raiders are strictly Derrick Low’s team may want to rethink their line of reasoning.

Low scored 12 points, but his teammates managed a key 10-0 run in the third quarter—without a single point by the two-time State Player of the Year—to turn a close game into a rout.

Iolani (29-2, 14-0 ILH) led 33-29 before scoring 10 points in a span of 1 minute, 14 seconds. After Todd Blankenship sank a layup off a pass from Ryan Hirata, Hirata sank 3-pointers from 24 and 20 feet away. After Blankenship hustled for another layup—this one on a pass from Low—Iolani led 43-29 with 4:43 to go in the third quarter.

“Even at halftime, we felt good. When Hirata bombed those 3s, that hurt us,” Kaimuki head coach Stephen Lee said.

As Iolani’s halfcourt trapping defense smothered Kaimuki, the Bulldogs were unable to get the ball to the low post, where they had a significant size advantage.

Kyle Pape added a layup and two foul shots to close the quarter, giving Iolani a 47-32 lead.

The Raiders extended the lead to 56-35 with a 9-3 run to start the fourth quarter.

Hirata finished with 16 points, including 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. “Ryan is one of those guys, he has a shooter’s mentality, and you take the good with the bad,” Mugiishi said. “His defense was key in getting (Kaimuki point guard) Kekoa Onaga tired.”

The Raiders shot just 43 percent from the field against Kaimuki’s 2-3 matchup zone, but forced Kaimuki into 25 turnovers.

Jimmy Miyasaka had 10 points and seven rebounds. He shot 2-of-12 from the floor. The Bulldogs (20-8, 12-4 OIA) shot 36 percent from the field, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range.

When they last met, it was December 2002. Bobby Nash was still a Raider, and Iolani won that preseason game by more than 40 points.

This time around, Kaimuki made a game of it. Iolani took the lead, 12-10, on a layup by Sean Carney, but Kaimuki hung around. The Bulldogs were within 27-23 on a pair of free throws by point guard Kekoa Onaga with 1:01 to play in the first half.

Pape swished a trey from the top with 41 seconds left, and Iolani led at intermission, 30-23.

Despite the relatively healthy offensive output, the Raiders struggled at times, shooting just 36 percent in the first half.

“Todd was steady in the middle, and when we were struggling, Jon (Yasuda) got us offensive rebounds,” Iolani head coach Mark Mugiishi said. “He probably got us about eight or 10 extra possessions.”

Yasuda had three points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals in just 14 minutes of action. “I just try to do the little things. I try to outjump the big guys. I know it frustrates them,” the 5-foot-9 senior guard said.

Iolani, which used full-court pressure for the final 2:21 of the first half, unveiled its halfcourt trap in the third quarter.

“We were hoping to dribble through it, but our guys weren’t going to the open spots,” Lee said. “It’s the toughest defense we’ve seen this season.”

Iolani doles out its strength in small doses, and when the knees of its foe get wobbly, the knockout punch arrives. “That’s what we’ve done all year. We use our defensive pressure to create tempo,” Mugiishi said. In all, the Raiders had 12 steals and committed just 10 turnovers.

How Iolani fares in the semifinals will depend on the obvious. “If a team can bring up the ball, they’ll have a chance,” Lee said.

Kaimuki will bounce back despite being eliminated from title contention. “We’ll shake it off. Tomorrow’s another game,” he said.

Iolani, meanwhile, meets up with Mililani. “They’re quick and they have some good ballhandlers,” Mugiishi said.

Mililani 72, Kealakehe 62—Alex Patykula poured in 19 points and Puna Neumann added 18 to lead a balanced attack for the Trojans.

Jon Santos added 11 points and Nick Rogers tallied 10 for the hot-shooting Trojans. Mililani shot 53 percent from the field on 26-of-49 attempts. They also shot 73 percent from the free-throw line (16 of 22).

“They really shot well for outside,” Kealakehe head coach Brian Boshard said of the Trojans.

Kyle Teves paced Kealakehe with 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting. The 6-foot-2 senior also grabbed 12 rebounds. Iaone Spencer added 10 points for Kealakehe (15-1).

It was a matchup as even as expected for most of the way. Kealakehe, ranked No. 5 in the HondaReport.com Top Ten, started strong before Mililani got hot from the perimeter.

Mililani (24-2, 13-1 OIA), ranked sixth, maintained a small lead through the second and third quarters. The Trojans managed to keep stroking the nets despite game stoppages due to rain falling from the roof, as well as scoreboard malfunctions.

The Waveriders saw power forward Michael Kaniho hit the floor with a knee injury in the opening quarter, but kept their composure. They pulled within 55-53 before Mililani went on a 7-0 run, due in part to Kealakehe turnovers.

The Waveriders committed 21 turnovers in all. “It was uncharacteristic of us,” Boshard said. “Mike is our most physical power forward, and he’s energetic. You can’t replace him.”

Aaron Kanno swished a 3-pointer from the left corner, Patykula sank two foul shots, and Scott Neumann—Puna’s younger brother—cut backdoor for an easy layup. The Trojans led 62-53, and Kealakehe got no closer than six the rest of the way.

“We told ‘em we love ‘em,” Boshard said of his post-game talk with his team. “They’ve done something that no other Kona team has done on the Big Island.”

Kealakehe loses seven seniors, but brings up talent from a junior varsity program that went 20-4 over the past two seasons. This year’s JV team lost just one game.

Punahou 74, Maui 55—Jeremiah Ostrowski poured in 21 points as the No. 2-ranked Buff n’ Blue scorched the nets for an easy win.

Fourth-ranked Maui, unbeaten champion of the MIL, led 6-2 and seemed prepared for a fierce battle. However, Punahou closed out the opening quarter with a 16-1 run and never looked back.

The Buffs, runners-up from the ILH, shot 57 percent from the field. Spencer McLachlin came off the bench to score 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. No Punahou player logged more than 18 minutes of action.

Punahou’s patient offense was especially effective in the second half, when the Buff n’ Blue shot 71 percent (15 of 21).

Senior Sean Curtis led Maui with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Gene Rivera finished with six points and four assists. Punahou’s man defense was particularly pestering for the Maui point forward, who turned the ball over four times.

Daniel Cho and Scott Otake took turns covering Rivera up and down the floor. “We wanted to get after him and get him tired,” Punahou head coach Greg Tacon said. “Our defense got a little loose in the second half, but in terms of rotations, it was a nice job.”

Punahou matched up far better with Maui than it did with Waiakea. The Buffs edged Waiakea in Wednesday’s opening round, 68-64. “That was a different kind of matchup,” Tacon said. “(Maui) allowed us to use our defensive schemes.”

Ostrowski, a 5-7 freshman, has shot very well in his first state tournament. “He’s not textbook. He’ll take off-balance shots, runners, but every person on this team is okay with him taking shots,” Tacon said. “We want him to take shots. When he gets in a rhythm, he shows what a great scorer can do.”

Maui’s veteran head coach, Bill Naylor, credited Punahou for putting on a tremendous shooting performance. “They shot lights-out in the first quarter. I just said, ‘Wow! What do we do now?’ Defensively, they switched everything, every cut, every swing, and that frustrated us,” Naylor said.

Naylor was aware that his team was in for a brand-new experience. “Gene is the only one with real experience in the state tournament. We had three other guys who’ve been here, but they were my 10th, 11th and 12th men last year,” Naylor said. “The rest of our guys looked a little shell-shocked.”

Maui never let up intensity-wise. “I was please with how they played down the stretch,” he said. “When you lose a game at the state tournament, it’s tough, especially for our seniors. I’m pretty talkative, but you don’t know what’s the right thing to say. We wanted to play with character and pride, and that’s what we did.”

Ostrowski and McLachlin, Naylor believes, could become a tremendous 1-2 combo. “Their team defense is really good, and shooting and handling the ball, Ostrowski is damn good,” he said. “McLachlin will only get better as he gets stronger. We knew they all could shoot. We did all we could do.”