Kamehameha 23 15 11 15 — 64
By BILL O’REAR
Tribune-Herald sports editor
Sophomore Jodd Carter poured in 28 points and had a clutch block with 37 seconds remaining to lift Hilo to a hard-fought 68-64 win over West top seed Konawaena in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation boys Division I basketball tournament semifinals on Friday night.
About 1,400 fans watched the exciting contest at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. In the other semifinal, East No. 1 seed Kamehameha defeated West No. 2 Kealakehe 64-43.
Both Hilo (10-4) and Kamehameha (12-1) clinched the league’s two state D-I tournament berth and will battle at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Civic for the BIIF’s overall title and top seed in the states.
Carter, a 5-foot-9 guard, scored 11 points in the first half as the Vikings, the East No. 2 seed, led 19-8 after the first period and 34-28 at the half.
Hilo then outscored Konawaena 19-15 in the third quarter and led 53-43 heading into the final period. But the hustling Wildcats started to find their range and chipped away at the Viking lead, finally tying the game at 64-64 on Kenan Gaspar’s layup with 2:09 left.
Hilo took back the lead on sophomore Devin Kell’s free throw at 1:29, then the crafty Carter snuck in for a layup at :55 to give the Vikings a 67-64 advantage.
The Wildcats attacked on their next possession but as Gaspar drove for a six-foot floater, Carter came from the side and block the shot, giving the ball back to Hilo.
Viking senior Rico Loeak was fouled at :25 and sank one of two free throws, stretching the margin to 68-64.
Then as Konawaena looked for a score, Hilo sophomore Devin Kell stole a pass and teammate Kainoa Kawaha was fouled at :07. Kawaha, who had a solid all-around game, missed both free throws but time ran out on the Wildcats as their final shot fell short.
Konawaena outscored the Vikings 21-15 in the fourth period, but Hilo’s ball handling and defense in the last 2:09 were keys to the tough win.
Sophomore Jalen Carvalho followed Carter with 11 points and Loeak added nine.
Gaspar, a 6-foot junior, led the Wildcats with 18 points and sophomore Jonah Bredeson added 17. Konawaena also got a boost in the paint from 6-7 junior Brenton Shropshire, who pulled down 10 rebounds despite foul trouble.
Promising sophomore point guard Brandon Awa also turned in a rock-solid performance for the Wildcats, dishing out eight assists while orchestrating the team’s potent offense.
“I’m happy with the first half,” Hilo coach Jason Mandaquit said. “We managed the tempo despite some foul trouble. But we never managed to get the tempo the way we like it.
“In the second half, we got complacent and they made a strong run at us. But we’re not a team that likes to slow the ball down, we play better and more aggressive with a fast tempo.”
Even though Konawaena tied the contest late in the fourth period, Mandaquit said he was confident in the end.
“We truly believe our defense will find a way to help us win,” the Hilo coach said. “Jodd got the big block and then Devin got the steal. Those were big defensive plays for us.”
He also praised the Wildcats’ effort.
“Kona is a good team,” Mandaquit said. “They just hung around. But we knew they would make a run. That’s how they’ve played all year and they won a lot of close games.”
The Wildcats, under veteran coach Donny Awa, finished their season with an 8-3 record. But with only four seniors on the roster and some talented underclassmen returning, Konawaena should be a BIIF title contender again next year.
The Wildcats coach said he was disappointed in his team’s effort.
“I thought Hilo outworked us tonight, they wanted it a little more than we did,” he said. “We made some of the same mistakes that hurt us all year — missed layups and free throw, not blocking out.
“But I think we’ll be a lot better next year. We’ll continue to work hard and try to get better. I thought we had a good chance of winning tonight, but we just didn’t get it done.”
Konawaena 8 20 15 21 — 64
Hilo 19 15 19 15 — 68
* Kamehameha 64, Kealakehe 43: Junior Shaun Kagawa scored 16 points and seniors Kaeo Alapai, Lanaki Apele and Jacob Kackly added 14, 12 and 11, respectively, to lead the defending D-I champion Warriors.
Senior Nalu Marks led the Waveriders (7-5) with 15 points, including four 3-pointers. But Kamehameha’s aggressive defense shut down the rest of the Kealakehe scorers, including the dangerous Deion Utrera, who finished with only seven points, all in the second half.
Kamehameha led 23-10 at the end of the first quarter and 48-23 at the intermission. The Warriors then outpointed the Waveriders 26-20 in the second half on the up-tempo contest.
“I thought we came out with a lot of intensity,” Warriors coach Dominic Pacheco said. “Our players knew what was at stake and they responded. Overall, I though we played well and we’re looking forward to tomorrow night’s game with Hilo.”
Kealakehe 10 13 11 9 — 43
Kamehameha 23 15 11 15 — 64