KEAAU — Kamehameha looked a little uncomfortable against St. Joseph’s 2-3 zone, slowdown game and the quickness of Cole De Silva and Manato Fukuda, at least for the first half. ADVERTISING KEAAU — Kamehameha looked a little uncomfortable against St.
KEAAU — Kamehameha looked a little uncomfortable against St. Joseph’s 2-3 zone, slowdown game and the quickness of Cole De Silva and Manato Fukuda, at least for the first half.
Then in the second half, Solomon Escalante and Nalu Kahapea changed all that and took over to spark the Warriors over the Cardinals 62-44 in a BIIF basketball season-opener on Monday night at Koaia Gym.
Escalante provided perimeter firepower to score 16 points, knocking down four 3-pointers in the third quarter, and the 6-foot-4 Kahapea was a big-time post presence with 12 points, getting seven straight points to kick off the second half.
Pukana Vincent relied on his quickness to add 13 points for the Division I Warriors (1-0), who shot 41 percent (24 of 59) and used their size to outscore St. Joe, 10-2, on second-chance points.
They outrebounded the smaller Cards, 25-15, who did a good job controlling the tempo and limiting Kamehameha’s uptempo game, allowing only one basket in transition, by Bayley Manliguis who had eight points.
De Silva, a 6-0 guard, and Fukuda, a slightly built 5-6 guard, often beat defenders off the dribble to score 19 and 14 points, respectively, for the Division II Cardinals (0-1), who shot 43 percent (17 of 40).
De Silva drained three 3-pointers and Fukuda had a pair, but it wasn’t enough to compensate against Kamehameha’s better scoring balance and deep bench.
It was tied 25-25 at halftime, and, in the first half, Kamehameha couldn’t force an uptempo game because the Cardinals often hustled back on defense.
The Cardinals patiently moved the ball and found their two shooters, De Silva and Fukuda. Both kept swishing open looks against Kamehameha’s man defense. In the first half, De Silva scored 15 points, hitting three treys, while Manato had eight points.
Once the third quarter started, it was a different ballgame.
The Warriors discarded the outside shot and fed the ball to Kahapea, who kept firing jump hooks over the heads of the smaller Cards. When he took a breather on the bench, Escalante dropped in his string of 3-balls, drilling his fourth right at the buzzer.
Escalante opened the fourth quarter with a steal and a layup. Kahapea scored on a putback. Then Manliguis got Kamehameha’s only layup in transition.
It was suddenly 55-37, an 18-point cushion, and Kamehameha finally looked comfortable.
The Warriors also held De Silva and Manato scoreless in the fourth quarter, again, adding to their comfort level.
St. Joseph 15 11 12 7 — 44
Kamehameha 15 11 24 13 — 62
Hilo 78, Honokaa 72: Sophomore Isaac Liu dominated with 40 points, carrying Hilo to a season-opening victory at Honokaa Armory.
EJ Narido (15 points) and Lawrence Padasdao (12) also reached double-figures for the Vikings.
The Dragons placed four scorers in double-figures, but they couldn’t keep up with Liu. Kamuela Spencer-Herring led the way with 15, Jonathan Charbonneau and Koa Callihan each had 14 and Kysen Datuin added 13.
In junior varsity, Hilo won 61-46.
Keaau 53, Kohala 40: Kirk Imai led all scorers with 16 and the Cougars got going in the second quarter en route to a home victory.
Charles Caldwell-Kaai chipped in with 14 and Damion Scandrick had 12 for Keaau, which led by three at halftime after scoring 22 in the second quarter.
Chance Pang and Maui Hook each led the Cowboys with nine points.
Keaau won the JV game 54-32.
Kohala 10 15 8 7 – 40
Keaau 6 22 11 14–53
Laupahoehoe at Konawaena: The Seasiders had to forfeit the season-opening game in Kealakekua because of a lack of players.
In junior varsity, the Wildcats beat Parker 54-14.
