This time, the Kaiser Cougars left no doubt against their neighboring rivals.
Chance Kalaugher amassed 19 points and 14 rebounds and Keoua Mahiko scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half as Kaiser rolled over Kalani 49-36 to capture the OIA Division II boys basketball title on Thursday night.
"I’m extremely proud of our guys. They’ve worked hard every day at practice and overcame a lot of adversity," Kaiser coach Branden Kawazoe said. "I’m extremely proud of my guys."
A crowd of roughly 1,200 at muggy McKinley Student Council Gymnasium saw the Cougars (21-8) dominate on the boards with a 46-16 edge over the Falcons (9-16). Kaiser had almost as many offensive caroms (14) as Kalani had in total rebounds.
"We’ve been working so hard for this," said Mahiko, a 6-foot-2 junior who hustled for 11 boards. "We had to get ’em back for beating us in the first game of the season."
Kalani edged Kaiser 78-77 on Jan. 3.
Kalaugher was a force with five blocked shots, using his 6-5 frame and athleticism to patrol the paint with authority.
"We’ve been practicing a lot of help-side defense," he said. "That helped a lot."
Kalaugher was one of the many Cougars who invested with sweat equity in Kawazoe’s offseason training program.
"All our 5 a.m. workouts (in the offseason), that’s easy," the junior said. "We’ve become more mature and composed throughout our games."
Alex Tungpalan paced Kalani with 21 points. Juwan Bohannon added eight points.
"Congratulations to them," Falcons coach Nathan Davis said. "They were well-coached and well-prepared for us."
The Falcons used fullcourt pressure from the start, but the Cougars solved the puzzle much of the time. Though the Cougars finished with 14 turnovers, it was a big run in transition during the first half that started the runaway.
Up 13-8, the Cougars got a flurry of fastbreak points, including nine points by the elusive Mahiko, during a 16-4 run.
By halftime, Kaiser had a comfortable 30-15 lead. Kalani got no closer than 42-29 midway through the fourth quarter.
Both teams had already clinched berths in the upcoming D-II state tourney.
| At McKinley |
| Kalani |
8 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
— |
36 |
| Kaiser |
18 |
12 |
11 |
8 |
— |
49 |
KALANI: Cory Mitchell 4, Dunavan Hahn 0, Jaron Yamauchi 3, Alexander Tungplan 21, Blaise Manabe 0, Chase Santos 0, Kapa’a Nishimura 0, Jeremy Robinson 0, David Faletoi 0, John Lam 0, Jon Suda 0, Juwon Bohannon 8, Jeffrey Wood 0
KAISER: Keoua Mahiko 14, Kelsey Lewis 7, Jalen Pinks 0, Isaiah Lundell 2, Nic Tom 3, Jonah Chinen 2, Brayden Nueku 0, Cameron Ma 0, Shaun Kim 0, Bryan Iha 0, Micah Okamoto 2, Chance Kalaugher 19.
3-point goals: Kalani 3 (Tungpalan 2, Yamauchi), Kaiser 1 (Lewis).
