Zoar Nedd’s ankle isn’t quite 100 percent, but it never showed.
Not a single bit. The 6-foot-4 senior pumped in 19 points and sparked Kapolei’s defense as the sixth-ranked Hurricanes held on for a 61-51 win over No. 10 Campbell on Thursday night.
Kapolei sealed first place in the OIA West with a perfect 10-0 mark and will have a first-round bye in the playoffs. Campbell (8-1) needs to beat Leilehua on Saturday to claim the division’s second bye.
Despite tweaking his ankle recently against Aiea, Nedd was highly active. He added five rebounds, two steals and two blocks as the visiting Hurricanes used a mix of defenses from man-to-man to 1-3-1 zone and fullcourt pressure to keep the home team off balance on senior night. The clever ballhandling and passing of guards Ja’Shon Carter, who had 11 points, four boards and six assists, and Isiah Higa thwarted the quick Sabers. Marquis Montgomery scored eight of his nine points during a blazing-fast run during the third quarter that opened the lead to 20 points for the ‘Canes.
Samuel Sabellona and Mitchell Williams led Campbell with 13 points each. Andrew Mersburgh added 11 and Christopher Moore finished with nine.
For most of the night, Kapolei kept Campbell’s long-range gunners covered.
“We know they’ve got very good shooters. This is the most we’ve switched around defenses,” Hurricanes coach Gary Ellison said.
The visitors also did a commendable job of keeping the Sabers off the offensive boards. Campbell got its hands on a lot of missed shots, but didn’t haul in an actual offensive rebound until the final quarter. Kapolei won the battle on the glass 30-22 and shot 61 percent from the field against Campbell’s man defense. The ‘Canes also finished with just eight turnovers while the Sabers had 13.
“The only way we’ll go far (in the playoffs) is if we correct our mistakes,” Campbell coach Wyatt Tau said. “We keep trying to jump with tall guys, but we cut them in half if we’re boxing out. Give Kapolei credit. They did what they had to do, but we can’t go down 20 points to a good team.”
Trailing 9-2, the Sabers rallied to tie the game at 12 by the end of the first quarter. Then came a cold spell for Campbell, which shot 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the second quarter. Kapolei opened the lead to 27-16 by halftime.
Then came the speed of Montgomery, a 6-4 wide receiver on the gridiron. He was injured most of football season, but is healthy now and looked like James Worthy on the fast break in the third quarter. Carter found him twice for easy layups as Kapolei went on an 18-9 run for a 45-25 lead.
