By RALPH D. RUSSO Associated Press ADVERTISING PISCATAWAY, N.J. — After a hasty search, Rutgers found a replacement for Greg Schiano in one of his protigis. Longtime assistant Kyle Flood is getting his first shot at running a college football
By BILL O’REAR
Tribune-Herald sports editor
It isn’t easy being the underdog in almost every game you play, but that’s usually the life of being a small school on the Big Island.
And that’s a role that second-year Ka‘u High School basketball coach Ravel Kaupu doesn’t mind since his ultimate team goals focus on competing and improving each game, not looking at it as a win-or-fail situation.
“We like being the underdog because nobody expects us to win,” Kaupu said Tuesday night after his gutsy Division II Trojans gave D-I Waiakea a scare before falling 43-35.
The hard-fought Big Island Interscholastic Federation boys basketball game was played at the Warriors Gym.
“We’re a young team with only two seniors,” Kaupu said. “But the guys are playing organized ball with a lot of discipline. We’re right there in winning the game, we just have a two- or three-minute lapse and that hurts us.
“Tonight, it was close in the end but we didn’t block out on a couple of free throws and we missed a couple of easy shots. If we can keep working hard, we’re going to get better and surprise someone.
“We’ve just got to execute better. We’re preparing for the D-II playoffs and we believe we’re a contender.”
The visiting Trojans (2-9) led 11-6 at the end of the first quarter before Waiakea (5-6) rallied to take a 21-20 halftime advantage. The hosts then outpointed Ka‘u 8-6 in the third period and stretched their final margin to eight as Warrior sophomore guard Bryson Ita drained four free throws in the last 41 seconds to help hold off the hustling Trojans.
“Ka‘u came out with a great defensive plan,” Waiakea coach Paul Lee said. “They mixed up their defense and doubled our big men. They were very aggressive with a lot of intensity that we didn’t match most of the night.
“I guess we’ve got to do a better job as coaches to get them more prepared. We’re young and work on a lot of things at practice, but it doesn’t always carry over into the game. Give Ka‘u credit. Tonight, they were really aggressive and took it to us.”
Junior Owen Sandstrom led Waiakea with 11 points and senior Rylan Kawazoe had 10, including clutch jumpers to end the second and third quarters. Sophomore Lucas St. George had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
Senior Alika Kaopua led the Trojans with 10 points. Senior sharpshooter Holden Galigo had nine points, including two 3-pointers, and junior point guard Jansen Candaroma chipped in with seven points and a solid all-around floor game.
“Nobody expects Ka‘u to win,” Kaupu said. “They come out with a half-effort and that helps us. If we can play our game and with some discipline, we’ve got a chance to beat a lot of teams. We’re really looking forward to the playoffs.”
JV: Waiakea 37, Ka‘u 15. Waiakea: Jeff Tomas, 15; Mark Pacris, 12.
Ka‘u 11 9 6 9 — 35
Waiakea 6 15 8 14 — 43
• St. Joseph 56, Keaau 48: At Hilo Civic, senior Sebi Ohara-Saft hit seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points and senior Thomas Fairman added 19 as the Cardinals won their third straight game to finish the regular season 6-6.
St. Joe will host Honokaa in the quarterfinals of the BIIF Division II tournament next Wednesday.
Senior Kau Eggers led the D-I Cougars (1-10) with nine points.
Keaau 11 14 8 15—48
St. Joe 18 16 10 12—56
• Pahoa 72, Hilo 69: Senior Devin Freitas-Gonsalves scored 28 points, including four treys, and Nick Fisher had 16 to lead the D-II Daggers (8-3).
Sophomores Jodd Carter and Jalen Carvalho scored 18 and 16 points, respectively, and senior Kamu Patnaude 13 to lead the D-I Vikings (7-4).
JV: Pahoa 36, Hilo 34. Pahoa: Ben Padilla-Gamtonia, 18. Hilo: Fa‘a Fuava, 10.
Hilo 19 11 19 20 — 69
Pahoa 16 19 20 17 — 72
• Hawaii Prep 51, Konawaena 39: At Waimea, senior Dakota Berman scored 20 points and junior Kama DeSilva 10 to lead the D-II Ka Makani (7-3).
Kenan Gaspar scored 23 points to lead the D-I Wildcats (7-2).
JV: HPA 55, Kona 37. HPA: Buck Thomas, 16. Kona: Rey Mark Bautista, 13.
Konawaena 11 8 17 3 — 39
Hawaii Prep 15 12 14 10 — 51
• Kealakehe 69, Kohala 58: At Kealakehe, Deion Utrera scored 23 points to lead the D-I Waveriders (5-4).
Jacob Ontiveros added 17 points, and Nalu Marks scored 15.
For Kohala (6-3), Christopher Roxburgh scored 20 points, Weston Cazimero added 13 and Kealen Figueroa scored 12 points.
Kohala 5 17 11 25— 58
Kealakehe 19 16 19 15 — 69
