By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Jalen Carvalho is dangerous shooter, and opponents try to guard him tight, which opens the door for teammates to play the type of basketball that makes Hilo a worthy competitor.
The Vikings don’t operate the defensive press and run-and-gun system of years past. That’s not the style of first-year coach Chuck Vallero, whose players share the ball and make their shots count, especially Carvalho.
He and Austin Dante combined for 47 points as Hilo prevailed over Pahoa 55-51 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation boys basketball game on Tuesday night at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Carvalho made careful selection before he pulled the trigger, and scored 32 points on 10 of 17 shooting, and Dante added 15 points for the Vikings (3-3), who made 40 percent (19 of 47) from the field.
“It was a tough game. Nothing comes easy in this league,” Vallero said. “The league is pretty balanced. We’re trying to get the ball in Jalen and Audie’s hands. They’re our main scorers, but we need other guys to step up.”
Take out Carvalho’s numbers, and Hilo’s shooting drops to 30 percent. The 6-foot-3 senior guard sank four 3-pointers, displayed his mid-range pull-up, and worked inside for a few buckets, too.
It was another 30-point-plus performance that reinforced Carvalho’s status as a college prospect in his coach’s eyes.
“Jalen will be an outstanding Division I player at the next level,” said Vallero, who noted Carvalho’s determination as a strong suit. “I’m always asking him if he needs a rest. But he tells me that he always wants to finish games out. I just think he’s a heck of a player.”
Tolby Saito scored 20 points, including nine in a frantic fourth quarter, to lead the Daggers (1-5), who trailed 27-21 at halftime and made 34 percent (18 of 53) on field goals.
Keinan Agonias added 12 points and Terrell Thomas had 10 points for the Daggers, who sank just three 3-pointers, but gave themselves a chance with Saito’s ball-handling.
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings tried to double-team Saito. But each time he passed to an open teammate, and gave Pahoa a scoring opportunity. The Daggers had just 13 turnovers; the Viks had just 10 giveaways.
Saito scored on a layup to tie it 51-51 with 56 seconds left, but after a timeout Dante answered with a layup to give Hilo a 53-51 lead with 35.7 seconds remaining.
It was the second time Dante scored a layup after a Viking timeout. In both cases, he ran a half-moon pattern and scored from the right side of the basket.
Both times, Carvalho cleared out and the defense followed and didn’t focus on another Viking.
“It was a misdirection play,” Vallero said. “Audie and Jalen work well together and know each other’s game.”
After Dante’s score, the Hilo bench yelled, “Don’t foul.” But Agonias was fouled with 29.2 seconds to play, putting him at the free-throw line with a one-and-one opportunity.
He missed the front end, the Vikings rebounded and passed to Carvalho, who dribbled and milked the clock to 6.6 seconds until he was fouled. He buried both free throws, finishing 8 of 12 from the line, to cap the scoring.
In the JV, Hilo won 58-34.
Pahoa 8 13 14 16 — 51
Hilo 17 10 15 13 — 55
Kohala 68, Ka’u 56: Mikala Jordan’s 24 points paced the Cowboys’ methodical offensive effort in Kapaau.
Justin Agbayani and Kealan Figueroa added 13 points apiece for Kohala (5-1), which scored at least 15 points in each quarter.
The Trojans (0-6) were led by Larry-Dan Al-Navarro (20 points), while Brian Gascon contributed 13.
Ka’u won the JV game 68-43.
Ka’u 6 15 12 23 —56
Kohala 18 15 19 16—68
Konawaena 55, Honokaa 37: Jonah Bredeson led all scorers with 18 points in Kealakekua to power the Wildcats to a 6-0 start.
Brandon Awa added 11 points and Cameron Howes had eight for Konawaena, which is threatening to run away and hide in the Division I race.
For the Dragons (2-4), Cjay Carvalho finished with 12 points and Shyrome Batin posted 10.
In JV, Konawaena prevailed 61-47.
Honokaa 11 9 8 9 —37
Konawaena 10 17 14 14 —55
Waiakea 49, Keaau 39: Lucas St. George scored 14 points and the Warriors (4-2) pulled away in the fourth quarter to win on the road.
The Cougars (3-3), who trailed 35-32 after three quarters, got balanced scoring from Edgar Ventura (15 points), Charlie Belmes (12) and Isiah Segobia (10).
In JV, Waiakea won 53-45.
Waiakea 13 12 10 14 —49
Keaau 10 7 15 7—39
Kamehameha 53, St. Joseph 34: Ina Teofilo scored 11 points and Micah Carter added nine as the Warriors eased to victory on their home floor to improve to 4-2.
Ben Uhlmann led the Cardinals (0-5) with 10 points.
St. Joseph 11 9 6 8— 34
Kamehameha 13 15 15 10—53
Playoff fight
Pahoa and Hilo’s previous games have had rather significant implications on their status in their respective standings, for the time being with the possibility of change with three weeks left in the regular season.
Last Saturday, the Daggers fell to Keaau 47-44 in overtime at home. That dropped them into fourth place in the Division II standings, after the loss to Hilo.
The league has only one automatic berth to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state tournament. The BIIF runner-up will host the Interscholastic League of Honolulu’s No. 3 team in a state play-in game.
The likely scenario is that Hawaii Prep, the two-time defending BIIF champion, runs the table and earns the top seed to the four-team Division II playoffs. The best strategy is to be in an opposite bracket.
One key game for Pahoa is Jan. 30 when Honokaa, currently in third place, visits the Daggers Gym.
Also last Saturday, the Vikings lost on the road to Kohala 89-79, despite Carvalho’s 35-point performance. That made their climb into the four-team Division I playoffs a bit tougher.
Hilo has remaining games against Ka‘u on the road on Friday, next Monday at Waiakea, at home against Kamehameha (Jan. 30), on the road against Honokaa (Feb. 5), and at home against Kealakehe (Feb. 8).
Keaau, tied with Hilo with a 3-3 record, has remaining games against Kealakehe on the road on Friday, next Monday at Honokaa, at home against HPA (Jan. 30), at home against Kona (Feb. 5) and at home against Kamehameha (Feb. 8).
On Jan. 7, Hilo went on the road and defeated Keaau 67-43.
If two or more teams are tied for the last playoff spot, there will be a playoff for the No. 4 seed. There is no playoff for the No. 1 through No. 3 seeds. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head results.