By KEVIN JAKAHI Tribune-Herald sports writer ADVERTISING Jalen Carvalho came to the rescue when Hilo’s 18-point lead kept shrinking against Moanalua in the first round of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I basketball tournament Wednesday at McKinley Gym
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Jalen Carvalho came to the rescue when Hilo’s 18-point lead kept shrinking against Moanalua in the first round of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I basketball tournament Wednesday at McKinley Gym on Oahu.
The 6-foot-2 sophomore pulled the trigger on a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, pushing the Vikings ahead 48-45 before senior guard Kainoa Kawaha followed with a steal and layup for the finishing touches in a 50-45 victory in the statewide televised game on OC16.
Carvalho had a performance to remember: 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and four rebounds.
“I was feeling confident all the way,” he said. “My shot felt good and my teammates kept looking for me at the 3-point line and I had to sink it.”
Jodd Carter added 10 points and Kamu Patnaude had nine for the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up Vikings (13-3), who face No. 1 seed Punahou (11-1) at 7 p.m. today in the quarterfinals.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Carvalho said. “They’re obviously bigger than us. But I think we can hang with them. We’ll fight them through the entire game and give it all we’ve got.”
BIIF champion and No. 3 seed Kamehameha-Hawaii (13-1) plays Academy of the Pacific (9-4) at 5 p.m. today at Radford High Gym in a televised game on OC16.
Carvalho drilled his first three 3-point attempts and had 11 first-half points to help Hilo to a 30-16 lead at the break.
Kawaha scored on a layup to start the third quarter and Drew Kell followed with a putback, stretching the lead to 34-16. But from there, the Na Menehune (8-4), the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s No. 3 team, kept chipping away.
Kahanu Puulei-Auld scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, his last knotting the score 43-43 with 2:28 remaining, capping an 11-3 run.
Alex Hutson added nine points and Josh Kang had six for Moanalua, which shot just 33 percent (16 of 48).
On the next possession, Carter cut under the basket on the weakside, and Carvalho spotted him and whipped a fastball for a layup and 45-43 lead.
Puulei-Auld answered with a steal and layup to tie the score, again, with 42 seconds left, setting the stage for Carvalho’s clutch 3-pointer.
His first three treys all came in the first quarter. Then he missed his next two. On his last attempt, Carvalho was unguarded out on the perimeter and didn’t hesitate at all to fire away.
Hilo finished at 42 percent (18 of 43) shooting, including 4 of 10 from 3-point territory — none bigger than the last shot by Carvalho.
“It felt good. I was wide open and Kamu passed me the ball,” Carvalho said. “I wasn’t expecting it. But I just felt confident when I shot it.
“We were down by a lot and tried to keep our composure and fight through it and we did. We were so pumped up being at states and the crowd helped us out, too. We really wanted to get that first win.”
Moanalua 10 6 16 13 — 45
Hilo 16 14 8 12 — 50
Glance
Division I
First round
Hilo 50, Moanalua 45
King Kek. 43, Kam-Oahu 38
Leilehua 61, Kapolei 43
AOP 46, Pearl City 26
Quarterfinals
At McKinley
No. 4 Baldwin (12-0) vs. Leilehua (9-2), 5 p.m.
No. 1 Punahou (11-1) vs. Hilo (13-3), 7 p.m.
At Radford
No. 3 Kamehameha-Hawaii (13-1) vs. Academy of Pacific (9-4), 5 p.m.
No. 2 Kahuku (16-1) vs. King Kekaulike (9-4), 7 p.m.
Consolation
At McKinley
Moanalua (8-4) vs. Kapolei (13-3), 3 p.m.
At Radford
Kamehameha-Oahu (10-6) vs. Pearl City (10-6), 3 p.m.
Division II
Quarterfinals
At Farrington
No. 4 St. Francis (11-1) vs. Seabury Hall (6-0), 5 p.m.
No. 1 Kalaheo (15-2) vs. Kohala (8-5), 7 p.m.
At Kaimuki
No. 3 Kapaa (12-1) vs. McKinley (11-6), 5 p.m.
No. 2 HPA (9-3) vs. Hanalani (12-2), 7 p.m.
