Transferring its feeding-frenzy mentality from the football field to the basketball court, Kahuku’s defense continues to make life treacherous for opponents.

Four of the Red Raiders’ basketball team’s starting five also play in the secondary for the football team — a group dubbed “the Sharks” — and their defensive tenacity sparked a 64-49 home win over Leilehua on Friday in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red playoffs.

Trailing by eight at halftime, the Red Raiders (12-0) turned up the pressure to ignite a 12-1 run to open the third quarter and pulled away from there to advance to the semifinal round of the OIA Red tournament and clinch a berth in the Division I state tournament.

“When we’re down we just have more intensity to come back,” Kahuku senior Mekeli Fiso said. “Being down gets us motivated more, we just start to press more.

“We just pump each other up and it’s just more fun to play with all the boys.”

The Red Raiders will have a week to prepare before facing OIA West champion Kapolei on Friday for a spot in the championship round.

Fiso, a cornerback on the football team who signed with Western Oregon on Wednesday, led the Red Raiders with 18 points on Friday, while guards/defensive backs Kawehena Johnson (10 points), Evan Ramirez (eight points) and Mason Kualii-Moe (five points) contributed offensively and by harassing the Mules into turnovers.

“They’re all athletes that run, jump and finish,” Kahuku coach Darren Johnson said.

Center Sam Ching, the only member of the 16-player roster who didn’t play for Kahuku’s state champion football team in the fall, was also a big factor inside with 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Red Raiders turned up the pace after halftime.

“It’s kind of common for us,” said Ching, who also plays on the baseball team. “We usually step up in the second half.”

Leilehua controlled the tempo early and never trailed in the first half. The Mules scored the game’s first eight points and went into the break with a 26-18 advantage, led by Russell Siavii’s nine points.

“We tell them the same thing basically every halftime … let’s get focused, let’s play our brand of basketball,” Darren Johnson said. “We do a little more team concept and work the ball we’ll get better shots and we’ll knock them down. We just have to finish it.”

Many of the Red Raiders’ third-quarter possessions began by forcing a turnover and they finished on the offensive end to outscore the Mules 26-10 in the period.

“They did an excellent job in their press and we just have to make the adjustments and execute it better,” Leilehua coach Pat Wetzel said. “We had a lot of opportunities, we missed some layups, missed some free throws, but give all the credit to Kahuku. They got a lot of turnovers, they forced the tempo in the second half.”

The Red Raiders also got production from their bench, continuing to stretch the lead while often going with five-for-five substitutions.

Leilehua (9-3), the second seed from the OIA West, falls into the loser’s bracket and faces Mililani on Tuesday.

Josh Stevens hit a 3-pointer on the Trojans’ first possession of overtime, and Mililani iced the game with six free throws to end the Bulldogs’ season.
Mililani plays at Leilehua at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the next round of the playoffs.
Damon Shimabukuro led the Trojans with 15 points, with Taylor Tuia adding 12 and Stevens and Alex Baumgarner 11 each.
Dio Taulung led Kaimuki with a game-high 21 points, including two free throws with eight seconds to play in regulation to send the game into overtime.

Curtis Tavares scored 18 points, Christopher Dillard 13 and Zachery Reeves 10 to power the Hurricanes past Na Menehune.
Kapolei will host Kahuku in the winner’s bracket semifinal on Friday. Kahanu Puulei-Auld had a game-high 20 for Moanalua, which will host Pearl City on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Kailon Sabate led the Chargers with 10 points as Pearl City stayed alive in the playoffs with a victory over the Falcons.
Pearl City travels to Moanalua on Tuesday, while Kalani, which was led by Tatsuya Ono’s game-high 15 points, saw its season end.