Kapolei holds off Kahuku to advance in OIA playoffs

The Kapolei boys basketball team passed its toughest test to date on Friday night, beating Kahuku 49-43 at home in the winners bracket of the Oahu Interscholastic Association tournament.

The Hurricanes handled the chaos that the Red Raiders bring, taking the lead midway through the second quarter and never giving it up. Not that it was smooth sailing.

“That’s a hell of a team,” Kapolei coach Gary Ellison said. “We knew a little bit of their tendencies, but we didn’t know a lot, so we told the boys you have to shut down (Mekeli) Fiso, (Evan) Ramirez, (Kawehena) Johnson and (Mason) Kuali’i-Moe, if we lock those four guys down, it gives us a chance.”

Basically, that means shutting down Kahuku’s entire team, and Kapolei pretty much accomplished it.

Fiso led the Red Raiders with 12 points and Johnson scored 10, but Ramirez (one point) was held scoreless in the second half and Kuali’i-Moe (seven) had only two free throws after the break. Kahuku got its shots, but missed the easiest of attempts.

“Kapolei was the better team tonight,” Kahuku coach Darren Johnson said. “You cannot take anything away from them, they played hard and they dropped their shots. Hopefully we rebound from this. We will fight back.”

Kahuku moves to the other side of the bracket and plays Moanalua for another shot at Kapolei on Thursday. The Hurricanes can rest until then, but don’t expect them to have a rooting interest on which team battles back to challenge their unbeaten record. The shock of seeing Kahuku’s intensity might wear off by then, but probably not.

“I don’t want to see anybody in the OIA any more,” Ellison said. “Everybody is going to be gunning for us, everybody will want a piece of us now.”

Kapolei built its lead to eight points with 2 minutes, 31 seconds left in the game, but Kahuku fought back. After Johnson hit two free throws, Fiso, who has led the Red Raiders in scoring in every game of the tournament, had a putback and post move to cut the margin to two with 49 seconds left.

With the Red Raiders smelling blood, Kapolei point guard Curtis Tavares broke the press the next three times down the floor. He hit Zachery Reeves for an easy layup the first time and drew fouls the next two times, hitting two of three free throws.

“I told him if you can push it, push it,” Ellison said. “But once you get out of the trap you have to pass the ball, don’t look to dribble it all the way down the court against these guys.”

Reeves led Kapolei with 17 points, and Joshua Wills added 15. Both teams got all of their points except four from their starters. Christopher Dillard tallied nine.

Dillon Turk led Na Menehune with 13 points as Moanalua stayed alive in the OIA Red playoffs with a victory over the Mules. Moanalua, which has already captured a state tournament berth, now faces Kahuku on Tuesday in another elimination game. Despite the loss, Leilehua clinched the OIA’s fourth berth.

Paul Perry scored a game-high 10 points, including 5-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter as the Chargers clinched the OIA’s fifth and final spot into the HHSAA State Tournament with their victory over the Trojans.

Matthew Nuumanaia scored 16 points and St. Francis outscored Kamehameha 15-5 in the second period en route to a 46-36 victory for the school’s first boys varsity basketball title Thursday night at Kekuhaupi’o Gym on Kamehameha’s campus.
The Saints, with no seniors on their roster, finished the ILH Division II regular season 11-1 and won the title in just their second year of varsity play.