Jonny Philbrick scored 16 points as No. 4 Kailua rallied for a 42-37 win over Roosevelt on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the OIA Division I boys basketball tournament at Moanalua gym.
Ethan Kunz tallied nine points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Four of his caroms came on the offensive glass to help the Surfriders (13-1 overall) rally from a six-point first-half deficit.
“That’s what he’s been doing all year. He’s got that knack,” Kailua coach Walter Marciel said.
Kunz attributed his knack to the years he has played with his teammates.
“I always find the good spots in the spacing. I’ve played with these guys forever, so I know if the ball is going to be long or short,” he said.
Playing their fourth game in a six-day span, both teams seemed a step slower. Kailua will play for the OIA title today.
“I’m tired but ready to go,” Kunz said. “Kahuku and Mililani are two great teams.”
Kamuela Kaaihue, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior, had 18 points and 11 rebounds to power Roosevelt (7-4). Kaaihue had 12 points in the first half against Kailua’s man-to-man defense, forcing Marciel to make a profoundly difficult decision.
“We made some adjustments. Steve (Hathaway) does an outstanding job with his team. We never played zone all year and that’s respect to Kamu, and what he did in the post in the first half,” Marciel said. “We had to stop him, and we did.”
Japheth Lilo and Noa Donnelly added seven points apiece. Donnelly, a 6-4 sophomore, also had seven rebounds.
When the teams met during the regular season on Feb. 8, Kailua won handily, 57-38.
Coming off playoff wins over Nanakuli and Leilehua, Roosevelt was the more aggressive team at the start, taking a 6-0 lead as Kaaihue attacked the Surfriders in the paint.
Kailua finally scored its first points on a Donnelly follow shot with 1:29 left in the first quarter. After Donnelly hit an elbow jumper and Lilo sank two free throws off a Roosevelt technical foul, it was a one-point game after one quarter.
After four lead changes in the second quarter, Roosevelt’s man-to-man defense kept a lid on the Surfriders, who missed a bunch of open looks. After free throws by Kody Seguancia and a drive through the paint for a bucket by Kainoa Mizukami, the Rough Riders took a 23-19 lead into the locker room at intermission.
Kailua switched to a 2-3 matchup zone and went on a 9-2 run to take the lead for good in the third period.
Roosevelt shot 1-for-7 from the field and Kunz scored four points and hustled for two offensive rebounds and two steals. Every time his team shot the ball, he seemed to be a magnet for their misses.
Lilo’s steal and bucket gave Kailua a 24-23 lead. Kunz added to the lead when he picked the ball from Kaaihue in the final seconds of the third and went coast to coast for a layup to give the Surfriders a 28-25 cushion.
Philbrick drove and dished to Kunz for a layup to start the fourth quarter. After Philbrick drove and scored on a three-point play, Lilo added a basket on a pass from Reece Matsukawa. Another bucket in the paint by Philbrick, a junior guard, capped a 7-2 run for a 35-27 lead.
Kailua deployed fullcourt pressure again in the final 2:28 and extended the margin to 10 points after another layup by Philbrick.
A bucket in the post by Kaaihue and a layup by Kainalu Davis after a steal by Kayman Lewis brought the deficit down to 39-34 with 29.5 seconds to go.
A foul shot by Kunz pushed the lead back to six points. An NBA-distance 3 by Mizukami with 1.7 seconds left cut the lead to 40-37, but Kunz was fouled with one-tenth of a second to play and hit his charity shots for the final margin of victory.
