Kalaheo guard Josh Ko hit five 3-pointers, including the go-ahead shot in overtime, and the Mustangs rallied to a 59-54 win over Melbourne Grammar School in the finale of the Pete Smith Basketball Classic on Saturday.
Ko led the Mustangs with 21 points and his 3-pointer from the corner with 3:15 left in overtime gave Kalaheo — which trailed by 13 early in the third quarter — the lead for good against the visitors from Australia.
Kalaheo hit 10 shots from long range, including seven in the second half to fuel the comeback and overcome a 29-point, 23-rebound performance by 6-foot-9 MGS center Dane Pineau.
MGS had a rough start to their stay in Hawaii as the team’s bus was broken into while they had lunch and did some shopping on Thursday and two players had their gear taken.
Pineau, son of former University of Hawaii player Brad Pineau, controlled the interior for most of the first half and went into halftime with 14 points and 15 rebounds and MGS leading 30-19.
After Ko hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring, Pineau scored 10 of MGS’s first 13 points, six coming off offensive rebounds.
Chris Kirton complemented Pineau in the second quarter by breaking loose in transition and slashing to the basket to score seven points in the period.
Kalaheo hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter, two by Kalei Zuttermeister, and cut the MGS lead to 41-37 entering the fourth quarter.
Ko’s fourth 3-pointer of the game brought Kalaheo within a point, and after a Pineau layup, Shem Sukumaran connected from long range to tie the game at 45 with 5:04 left.
After a layup by Pineau to open overtime, Ko nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Kalaheo a 54-53 lead.