The big showdown in the OIA East turned into a big runaway by the Governors of Farrington.
Raefe McEnroe scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half as No. 9 Farrington roared to a 72-57 win over No. 6 Kailua on Friday night at Richard Kitamura Fieldhouse. Aaron Bagaoisan scored eight of his 16 points in a pivotal second quarter.
Farrington improved to 5-0 in league play (10-6 overall), becoming a rare Division II team atop the standings.
“We just want to show that we’re not just a Division II team,” said McEnroe, a 6-foot-3 senior.
The Govs have already beaten three ranked teams along with Kailua: Moanalua, Kalaheo and Kahuku.
“We just had to settle down and be patient. If they want to press, we’ll have opportunities to score,” Farrington coach Steven Leopoldo said.
Farrington did it with air-tight defense and a blazing-fast transition game. Kailua shot 35 percent from the field (16-for-46), while Farrington shot 50 percent (27-for-54).
“All credit to Farrington. They did a good job in all aspects,” Kailua coach Walter Marciel said. “We wanted to limit their big guys and we did a pretty good job with that. We just missed too many free throws and layups.”
The home team employed Bagaoisan and Modesto Bacaltos as sticky defenders in a box-and-one defense against Kailua sharpshooter Everett Torres-Kahapea.
The opening quarter was slow and measured, and the Govs led 7-4. Kailua shot 1-for-10 from the field in those first eight minutes as Torres-Kahapea didn’t get a shot up, but had four points by the half.
By then, the Farrington fast break was in effect, with Bagaoisan beating the Surfriders downcourt. Guards Aeman Kurt Castro and Felcris Ahadain found him for four layups as the Governors opened a 26-15 lead by intermission.
McEnroe opened the second half with a baseline jumper and later went coast-to-coast for a layup. After Christian Havea hit a foul-line jumper, the Govs led 39-22 with 1:40 left in the third.
Havea finished with eight rebounds to boost the Govs on the glass. The battle on the boards was even at 30 for each team.