Jacob McEnroe tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 3 Farrington outlasted Moanalua 74-67 on Tuesday to advance to the OIA Red title game against Campbell on Thursday.
Farrington (23-4) led by 22 points in the third quarter, but Moanalua was resilient. Jamaal Willis (21 points) and Aaron Stuart (19) never let up. An 11-3 run in the fourth quarter by Na Menehune had the Governors on the ropes. After Willis swished an NBA-range trey off the dribble, Moanalua trailed 68-64 with 29 seconds to play.
Farrington’s troubles at the foul line started to dissipate after that. Isaiah Smith hit one of his two attempts, and after Van Hugo was 1-for-2 at the line, the lead was 70-65 with 24 ticks remaining.
Elo Badua’s follow shot brought Moanalua within 70-67, but Isaiah Visoria hit four free throws in the final 13 seconds to seal the victory. Until Visoria’s final four shots at the charity stripe, Farrington was 8-for-19 there in the final quarter.
"We did good. We worked together," McEnroe said. "Our composure was still strong, even though we missed a lot of free throws. We stayed positive."
The close finish was a far cry from Farrington’s 80-50 win at Moanalua three weeks ago.
"We played well enough to win this game," Farrington coach Alan Silva said. "Moanalua played much better tonight. We beat them by 30 last time, but that’s history. This is playoff time. We’ve got to go back, work on those free throws, visualize game situations."
Smith, Visoria and Tua Unutoa each scored 12 points. Hugo chipped in 10 for Farrington, whose only loss in OIA Red play was to Kalaheo.
Badua added 13 points and Antoine Hines had 12 for Moanalua (17-9).
A noisy crowd of about 400 at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium saw a quick, aggressive Na Menehune squad bounce back. Moanalua pushed the tempo early, then switched to a 2-3 zone with more than 6 minutes left in the first quarter. The Govs platooned five for five during the first TV timeout and Na Menehune rallied to take an 18-16 lead going into the second quarter.
Silva inserted his starting five and the lead changed hands three times early in the second quarter. Farrington then caught fire from deep, even as Moanalua switched back to its man-to-man defense. Smith and Unutoa closed the half with 3-point bombs as the Govs opened the lead to 39-27.
Farrington then started the second half with a 13-3 run to take command. Hugo hustled for an offensive board and fed McEnroe for a layup as the lead opened up to 52-30 with more than five minutes to go in the third quarter.
Then came Moanalua’s resounding rally.
"It was a noble effort," Na Menehune coach Byron Mello said. "I wish we hadn’t put ourselves in that position. Early in the game, we weren’t stopping their transition offense.
Mello’s team will play Kalaheo in a third-place game on Thursday. The state tournament’s first round is next Wednesday.
"We’re definitely getting better. We fight back and pull together when we’re challenged," he said. "We can get away with that against a lot of teams, but not one of this caliber."
| At McKinley High gym |
| Moanalua (10-4) |
18 |
9 |
18 |
22 |
— |
67 |
| Farrington (12-1) |
16 |
23 |
17 |
18 |
— |
74 |
MOANALUA–Elo Badua 13, Jamaal Willis 21, Antoine Hines 12, Charles Johnson-Maverick 0, Karson Cruz 2, Aaron Stuart 19, Gabriel Patton 0.
FARRINGTON–Jacob McEnroe 21, Mark Dudalao 0, Isaiah Smith 12, Van Hugo 10, Isaiah Visoria 12, Tua Unutoa 12, Seu Luafatasaga 5, Manley Williams 2, Mason Semisi 0.
3-point goals–Moanalua 5 (Willis 3, Badua, Hines). Farrington 6 (Smith. Hugo, McEnroe, Unuoa).
