Ostin Taylor scored 12 points and Jake Flores hit five of his six free-throw attempts in the final five minutes as University outlasted Hawaii Baptist 47-40 to earn a Division II state-tournament berth.
The Jr. ’Bows return to the state tourney, where they lost in the opening round to Hawaii Prep last season. ULS won the D-II tourney in 2016 when Walt Quitan was coach.
“Hopefully, we can get some shots to fall, get some free throws to fall and get lucky,” Jr. ’Bows coach Ryan Tong said. “At states, it’s all about making that run. Luck’s got to be on your side.”
Colby Chun had nine points and was a key part of a strategic slowdown game plan by University (9-10 overall). It was a must for University, which lost by 13 points when the teams met early in the regular season.
“We have discipline in our backcourt, in our shooters. Coach has been preaching to us all year,” Chun said. “I feel great right now.”
ULS committed just six turnovers in what turned into a chess match.
“We just wanted to be patient with the ball, be strong with it. Control the tempo. We played for our seniors tonight. I love these guys,” said Taylor, a junior guard. “We executed today and got the win. HBA’s a good team. They always take it down to the wire with us.”
ULS got solid play in the paint from 6-foot-3 junior Ashton Kaahanui, who battled HBA’s 6-5 leaper, Makua Marumoto. For the most part, though, Tong left the weight of the gameplan in the hands of his backcourt.
“We have to take advantage of what we’re given, right? It’s the fourth time we’ve played them. We knew what to expect. I told the guys it’s about mastering the moment. Nothing that they do should be new to us,” Tong said.
HBA closed the season 9-12 overall. The Eagles committed 13 turnovers. They also shot 6-for-14 at the foul line and didn’t take full advantage of 11-for-24 shooting at the charity stripe by ULS.
“Our biggest issues this whole season were free throws, turnovers and terminating defensive possessions with rebounds,” HBA coach George Weeks said. “Those reared their ugly heads. University played a good game.”
The Eagles jumped to an 8-0 lead on 3-pointers by Ridge Wada and Justin Ishida.
ULS was patient against HBA’s 2-3 matchup zone. Taylor scored eight points in the first quarter, including two 3-pointers, as the Jr. ’Bows took a 15-14 lead into the second quarter.
After the Jr. ’Bows opened the lead to 21-14, they spread the floor and went into a delay game. There was 5:13 on the clock in the second quarter when HBA called time out. ULS ran four minutes off the clock before turning the ball over. The Eagles missed a shot and never got it back before halftime.
Chun drove and dished to Josh Ancheta, who splashed a contested corner 3 at the buzzer to open ULS’s lead to 24-14 at intermission.
HBA opened the second half trapping the Jr. ’Bows and gained some momentum. Marumoto’s follow shot cut the lead to 27-24, but ULS scored nine unanswered points for a 12-point lead.
The Eagles got back-to-back buckets in the low post by Marumoto and cut the score to 36-30 with 5:40 remaining. After Zach Qin hit a pull-up jumper on the block, HBA was within 38-33 with 3:40 left.
HBA got within 38-33 with 3:40 left. From there, it was a free-throw contest, and a messy one. Aside from Flores hitting five foul shots, the rest of the Jr. ’Bows shot 6-for-18 at the line in the final quarter.
