The battle of Houghtailing Street turned out to be a mere skirmish.
Jake Holtz scored seven of his 13 points in the first quarter and Jydon Hall poured in 19 as top-seeded Damien routed second-seeded Farrington 73-50 to capture the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball Division II State Championship Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
This is the first state basketball title in Damien’s history.
Balance was essential for the Monarchs, who got 13 points each from Jake Holtz, Bryce Forbes and Hayden Bayudan. Seventeen steals, including four by Holtz and three by Bayudan, stifled the running Governors.
“This was our goal since last year, we lost in the state final (to St. Francis). We sat in the locker room for 20 minutes after that game,” Monarchs coach Alvin Stephenson said. “They wanted it more. Our senior leadership was amazing. To me, that was the difference, them stepping up and actually leading the team. Allowing the young guys who were maybe a little more talented, to let ’em go, to not have ego. This senior group is unselfish and that’s what led us.”
For a supposed lower-division matchup, it played out with the kind of electricity and passion normally reserved for D-I title battles. Damien (28-2), ranked No. 3 in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10, hadn’t played in three weeks since winning the Interscholastic League of Honolulu D-II title.
Stephenson said his team wasn’t humming at full throttle in a 73-42 quarterfinal win over Kohala or even a 78-50 semifinal victory over Seabury Hall. Against their neighboring foe from the Oahu Interscholastic Association — Farrington’s campus is one block away from Damien — they exploded out of the block and were never seriously challenged.
Farrington (17-10), the OIA champion, was ranked as high as No. 5 during the regular season. The Govs ousted Kauai 62-52 and Hawaii Prep 58-44 to reach the final. It just wasn’t their night. Raefe McEnroe led the way with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in his senior finale. Aeman Kurt Castro added 14 points, but Farrington committed 24 turnovers and shot just 32 percent (16-for-50) from the field against Damien’s mix of fullcourt pressure and matchup zones.
“We wanted to give them our first punch. The last couple games, we’ve been taking punches, kind of sitting back. We wanted to come out on all cylinders,” Stephenson said.
Dorien Penebacker, one of three seniors, had five rebounds and two steals. Another senior, Lindon Sevilleja Jr., had seven points, five boards, two assists and two steals.
“It took a little bit of heart. We had the talent, but we worked hard and have the Damien grit. To play hard and be scrappy. The young boys weren’t used to that, so us seniors, me Lindon and Tanner (Souza) showed them,” Penebacker said.
The first two minutes were full-tilt action up and down the floor, but Damien’s 2-2-1 press slowed down the pace. Forbes’ corner 3 on a feed from Lindon Sevilleja Jr. opened the Monarchs’ lead to 13-8 before the midway point of the first quarter.
Then came the torrent from the team in white and purple. Damien’s press created a string of Farrington turnovers with a drive by Hall for a layup, a steal by Holtz and a lob from Hall to Forbes for his first dunk, two foul shots by Hall, a follow shot by Holtz, a steal and layup by Sevilleja, and suddenly it was 23-8 late in the opening quarter.
Damien entered the second quarter with a 26-13 lead. The 26 points broke the previous first-quarter scoring mark in a D-II final. Farrington settled in somewhat and put a band-aid on the wound, but the Monarchs closed the first half with a flurry.
Another alley-oop pass from Hall to Forbes in transition, off another steal, opened the lead to 16 points with 1 minute left. Penebacker’s steal and dish to Hayden Bayudan closed the first-half scoring as Damien marched into the locker room with a 39-21 lead.
