If you heard some rumbling in Manoa early Friday evening, it was the noise coming from the packed Mid-Pacific gym.
In the latest conflict in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, No. 9 Mid-Pacific mounted an incredible comeback and finished off No. 5 Maryknoll 35-33 with a clutch 3-point shot by Major Davis.
It was another ladder-climbing game. The Owls (3-5) came into the contest in last place and dragged the Spartans (3-5) down into the cellar with them. That kind of scenario played out Wednesday night, too, when No. 7 Punahou topped No. 4 ‘Iolani to put both teams at 3-4.
It’s not often a coach is sweating more than the players, but such was nearly the case with Maryknoll’s Kelly Grant, who was pacing up and down the sideline the whole second half, talking to the refs and giving high-volume instructions to his players, trying to be heard over the loud crowd.
The Spartans were comfortably ahead most of the game — 13-3 at one point and 16-6 at the half. The Owls missed 11 3-pointers and did not score a field goal in the first 16 minutes.
Led by the inspired play of Jacen Kimura, the Owls began to soar, though. He scored in the paint and then made a steal and pass to Logan Hutchinson for a hoop to give Mid-Pacific its first lead, 17-16, with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
The homecoming throng (due to there being no football team at the school) went ballistic. There was even more mayhem when Kimura grabbed a defensive rebound and went the length of the court for a layup to make it 19-17. More bedlam ensued after Zion Shepherd’s putback of Danny Florenco’s 3-point attempt to make it 21-19 as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.
Afterward, Kimura said, “It was so loud out there, we had to use hand signals and repeat ourselves. We could barely hear Coach. This is such a great feeling with all that school support. We had lost five games in a row, but we didn’t dwell on it.”
The Owls built a six-point lead (32-26), and that’s when the actual fun began. Maryknoll didn’t wilt and Jordyn-Thomas Perez nailed a trey for a 33-32 Spartans edge with 39 seconds to go.
In the meantime, Kimura was in the process of helping make it close by missing five free throws.
But then Davis, who Owls coach Ryan Hirata said has been struggling, detonated the big bomb by nailing a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 35-33 with 22 seconds left.
“I’m so proud of Major,” Hirata said. “For him to hit the shot and finish it. He did a great job. We told the kids at halftime that if you want it, go and get it. We left it at that.”
Maryknoll had one chance to tie and one to win, but Perez missed a layup with six seconds remaining and Isiah Gelacio missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“We wanted it,” said Perez, who finished with 11 points. “It didn’t go our way. We matched their intensity, but maybe we needed to be more composed. It was very intense the last time, too, when we played at home (a 35-32 Owls win). They’re a great team.”
The ILH regular-season champion will earn a berth in the state tournament and the other five teams will fight in the league playoffs for another spot at states. These two teams may meet again.
Hayato Kamata hit three 3s in the first half for Maryknoll and finished with a game-high 13 points. Florenco had 12 for Mid-Pacific. High-scoring Spartans post Brian Washington was held to two points.
