Boys’ Basketball: West Anchorage, Highland (Ariz.) head to Walter Wong final

By Paul Honda
Editor
Saturday, Dec. 27, 2003

HONOLULU—One night after a 104-point win, West Anchorage head coach Chuck White was back to basics with a team that he’s still getting to know.

Imploring, cajoling and ordering his Eagles to take care of the ball and play defense, White’s squad outlasted a game, but still somewhat rusty Saint Louis Crusader team, 70-58, Saturday night. In the other semifinal, Highland (Ariz.) defeated Mid-Pacific 81-45. In consolation play, Kalani downed Christian Academy 60-16 and Kaiser edged Word of Life 46-43.

Daniel Brown, a swingman with deft hands on the defensive end, pumped in 22 points to lead West. Gerald Johnson added 12, James Mahoney had 11 and David Darrington added 10.

Keao Monteilh led Saint Louis with 11 points. Desmond Hanohano added 10 and Kerstan Ho tallied nine.

The win propelled West Anchorage into the title game of the Walter Wong Classic against Highland (Ariz.). The final round will be played Monday.

Saint Louis will play fellow Interscholastic League of Honolulu member Mid-Pacific for third place.

A sparse crowd at McCabe Gym saw Saint Louis show glimpses of potential, but West came out with an aggressive game from the start, and that proved to be the difference.

West has shown few moments of hesitation, especially after routing Christian Academy 130-26 Friday. The Eagles pressed end-to-end from start to finish against the Patriots, but pulled back on the press occasionally against Saint Louis.

“I thought we competed well, but our halfcourt offense was sloppy. We’ve got five new kids, and I’m new to them. Our decision-making wasn’t good, but that’s okay,” White said.

West broke open a close battle with a run at the end of the first quarter and led 45-31 at halftime. The Crusaders pulled within 58-50 early in the fourth quarter, but poor shot selection and some easy buckets for the Eagles kept a Saint Louis win out of reach.

The contest was an opportunity for the Crusaders to adjust to a quicker tempo against a taller, quicker team. They never seemed to quite keep pace until the fourth quarter, and by then, it was too late.

It was also an accidental stage for White, a head coach in prep basketball for 38 years. He guided East Anchorage—a football and hoops powerhouse up north—for 34 years. His most notable graduate was Trajan Langdon. Then came four years at Eisenhower in Washington state.

Now he takes the reins at West High, a school that was 5-22 last year. The day after he agreed to join the Eagles, five players transferred in to West.

Those transfers, as well as the returning Eagles, know too well now that White is a holdover from the Old School. Among his rants:

“Do not reach! Do not reach!” –After seeing his team hand-check for an umpteenth time—and get whistled for it.

“He can’t shoot! Don’t foul him! –After one of his guards tripped Saint Louis shooter B.J. Batts on a 3-point attempt. Batts was 3-of-3 from 3-point range at that point.

“You can’t shoot ‘til we sub!” –During a pair of Saint Louis free throws to officials while he looked to substitute a player. Then White realized that his player had four personal fouls, not five, and apologized to the officials. The referee smiled and returned the handshake.

@ McCabe Gym	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
West	20	25	11	14	70
Saint Louis	12	20	14	12	58

Highland 81, Mid-Pacific 45—The Owls were within 30-24 in the second quarter before the Hawks took over with depth and defense. Mid-Pac, with two starters out to injuries, handled Highland’s fullcourt pressure relatively well, but fatigue proved to be another factor in the second half.

Ty Del Re led Highland, the No. 1-ranked team in Arizona, with 22 points. Ryan McCurdy added 15 points, while Derek Bailey and sharpshooter Riley McCormick tallied 13 apiece. Shane Peterson added 10.

Travis Tyler scored 12 points for MPI. Chris Perry added nine.

@ McCabe Gym	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
Highland	23	19	18	21	81
Mid-Pacific	14	17	05	09	45

Kaiser 46, Word of Life 43—Jeoff Peters sank all four of his free throw attempts in the final 9.2 seconds as the Cougars fought off the Firebrands. His free throws with 9.2 seconds left gave Kaiser a 44-43 lead, and after an offensive foul by Word of Life, Peters sank two foul shots with six seconds to go.

Matt Ching paced the Cougars with 17 points, while Peters finished with 11. Chris Assily added 10.

Brashton Satele paced the Firebrands with nine points.

@ McCabe Gym	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
Word of Life	09	10	07	17	43
Kaiser	12	12	07	15	46

Kalani 60, Christian Academy 16—Dusten Umeda scored 17 points and Jason DeGuzman tallied 11 as the Falcons downed the Patriots. Joshua Ko paced Christian Academy, which will play in Division II of the ILH, with six points.

@ McCabe Gym	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	F
Christian Academy	04	08	04	00	16
Kalani	13	22	14	11	60

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