Kekoa Fields scored 15 points in his third game back from an injury and Mililani had its way with Waiakea, 70-62, in the Division I first round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships at Radford on Wednesday night.
Fields, a junior, scored in double figures in three of the team’s first four games in November before going down with an injury. The Trojans struggled to replace him all season.
"Kekoa was the difference in the third and fourth quarter," Mililani coach Ed Gonsalves said. "Now he is ready. It is just his third game back. Everybody is healthy and we needed everybody. It was hot in there."
Fields scored seven of his points in the fourth quarter, when Waiakea tried in vain to come back. The Warriors have lost their last eight state openers, it was their first appearance since 2010.
"The beginning of the first and third quarters, they kind of blitzed us," Waiakea coach Paul Lee said. "It’s like the boys didn’t come ready to play, maybe the cameras, the bright lights, I don’t know."
Mililani moves on to play OIA champion Farrington on Thursday at Radford. It will be the first and only meeting between the teams this season.
Noel Bueno led Mililani with 18 points and shooting guard Elijah Butler added 16 with 16 rebounds. Mililani is averaging 71 points in its last three games.
"I guess we are kind of an offensive team, especially with (Butler)," Mililani senior forward Ian Namu said. "I am a defensive guy and he does all of the scoring. He’s a baller."
Namu scored four of his six points in the third quarter, when the Trojans turned a tie game into a 12-point lead.
Waiakea fought back to get within four points, 59-55, with two minutes left, but Mililani got two baskets off turnovers and forced the Warriors to foul.
Mililani went 5-for-10 from the line down the stretch to close it out. Noah Ferreira hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds for Waiakea to make it respectable.
Lucas St. George led the Warriors with 16 points.
"We just had to get the guards back on defense," Gonsalves said. "We just wanted to wear them out. It is hotter than hell in there and we thought with (Fields) we might be a little bit deeper and they wouldn’t have any legs left."
The first half didn’t settle anything as Mililani jumped on Waiakea immediately, but the Warriors fought back to go into the break tied at 33.
Bueno had four points in the first 3 minutes, forcing Waiakea to call its first timeout down 10-3.
Dillon Rellez rallied the Wildcats with successive 3-balls at the end of the first to cut the margin to four points.
They took their first lead 2 minutes into the second on another long-range shot, this one by St. George.
The teams traded baskets after that, going into halftime tied when Fields made a basket with three seconds left off an assist from Bueno.
| At Radford High |
| Mililani |
15 |
18 |
14 |
23 |
— |
70 |
| Waiakea |
11 |
22 |
6 |
23 |
— |
62 |
MILILANI–Noel Bueno 18, Cody Sison 6, Elijah Gambol 5, Ian Namu 6, Elijah Butler 16, Braiden Rosario 0, Jeremy Rozmeski 0, Sean Fitzgerald 0, Jacob Low 2, James Ziegler 2, Kekoa Fields 15.
WAIAKEA–Bryson Ita 3, Lucas St. George 15, Dillon Rellez 11, Kahinu Alapai 5, Calvin Mattos 0, Maika’i Gahan 10, Jeffrey Tomas 4, Cody Kojima 0, Kyle Kua-Ramirez 11, Noah Ferreira 3.
3-point goals–Mililani 2 (Bueno, Gambol). Waiakea 7 (Rellez 3, Gahan 2, Ferreira, Ita).
Maryknoll 59, Moanalua 54
Joshua Burnett had 26 points and Kaleb Gilmore had 25 as the Spartans held off Na Menehune.
Burnett also added nine rebounds and five steals.
Aaron Stuart led Moanalua with 19 points and Antoine Hines added 18.
Brandon Floyd had five points for Maryknoll and Tyson Kaloa scored three. They were the only scorers for the Spartans.
Maryknoll, last year’s state runner-up, moves on to play Baldwin.
Moanalua drops into the consolation bracket and plays Waiakea.
| At Radford High |
| Moanalua |
16 |
11 |
10 |
17 |
— |
54 |
| Maryknoll |
12 |
12 |
16 |
19 |
— |
59 |
MOANALUA–Elo Badua 3, Jamaal Willis 8, Antoine Hines 18, Karson Cruz 2, Aaron Stuart 19, Aljohn Bumanglag 4, Charles Johnson III 0.
WAIAKEA–Sean Ogata 0, Kaleb Gilmore 25, Joshua Burnett 26, Tyson Kaloa 3, Micah McGivern 0, Michael Miske 0, Samuel Ahn 0, Calvin Koo 0, James Winquist 0, Shane Victorino 0, Brandon Floyd 5.
3-point goals–Moanalua 8 (Hines 4, Willis 2, Badua, Stuart). Maryknoll 5 (Gilmore 3, Burnett 2).
