Boys’ Basketball:
No. 1 Iolani dominates
both ends of floor in 66-28 win
over No. 10
Talkstory central
for the
By Paul Honda
Editor
HondaReport.com
Tuesday,
Not that
Ryan Hirata scored 14 points, Derrick Low tallied 12, reserve guard Vinny Nip
had 11 and Kyle Pape chipped in with 10 as Iolani scorched the nets early. The
two-time state champions were undeniably humming on all cylinders, consistently
turning
“I’ve seen us shoot the ball this well, but with this many people,” said Low, who scored all of his points in the first half. “Vinny, Kyle, Ryan… Ryan hit some amazing shots.” He and the other starters sat down for good after playing just two-and-a-half quarters.
A polite crowd at McCabe Gym saw Iolani open the Interscholastic
League of Honolulu regular season with a stalwart performance on both ends of
the floor. Iolani (15-2 overall), ranked No. 1 in today’s HondaReport.com Top
Ten, did more than win. The Raiders overcame some glitches that hampered their play
in late preseason.
Veteran Iolani head coach Mark Mugiishi was satisfied. Iolani’s notoriously clunky
first-quarter play in recent games was a point of concern.
“We knew we had to be mentally prepared. That energy on defense helped us get off to a good start. We were struggling with that at the end of preseason, so we focused on being explosive at the beginning of the game,” Mugiishi said.
One factor that has helped the Raiders settle down is merely tactical. “Toward the end of preseason, I was still experimenting with lineups,” Mugiishi noted.
As if the Raiders needed any added fuel, they remembered clearly last year’s state title game against the Crusaders. Iolani came to Kalaepohaku prepared for a battle. “We knew they’d be good athletes. We used that as motivation. We didn’t want to be complacent,” Low said.
Pape, who was in the middle of a handful of takeaways, was as sharp as any of the Raiders. “We hadn’t seen them all preseason, so we were focused,” 6-foot-2 junior said.
Hirata, one of the state’s best baseline-to-baseline man-to-man defenders, was his usual ballhawking self. “We said we’re gonna come out and play with intensity. It’s a new season; we’re 0-0,” Hirata said. “The overtime loss to Montrose means nothing. Preseason means nothing.”
Both teams came out with man-to-man defenses, but
Hirata and his cohorts were terribly relentless. “The defense fuels me. It gets the team involved and pumped up,” the senior guard said.
Low hit a follow shot from the left elbow, and then drained
a trey from the top of the key. After Hirata sank two foul shots, Jon Yasuda
scored an easy layup off an inbounds pass from Low. When Kawika Shoji caused a
steal and raced downcourt for an easy layup, Iolani led 18-8 with
At that point, all five of
The Crusaders returned to a man defense, but Iolani’s shooters were uncanny. By halftime, Low already had all 12 of his points, including two 3-pointers. Hirata, Pape and Nip each had eight points and two treys.
Halfway through the third quarter, Mugiishi emptied his bench. Iolani led 53-19 when the subs platooned in, and the Raiders increased the lead to 40 points en route to the win. “It feels good to see everyone play. It’s about one team, and it’s great to see everyone play in an important game no matter what the score is,” Low said.
Desmond Hanohano led
In the Division II matchup, Danny Lee scored 10 points as
the Crusaders outlasted the Raiders, 52-44. Alex Why scored 12 and Brandon
Young 10 for the Raiders.
|
@ McCabe Gym |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
F |
|
Iolani |
23 |
20 |
16 |
07 |
66 |
|
|
11 |
06 |
02 |
08 |
28 |