KEALAKEKUA – In front of a large and rowdy crowd Saturday night at Ellison Onizuka Gymnasium, the Konawaena Wildcats played host to the Honokaa Dragons in a physical contest that sent players from both teams to the free throw line repeatedly, slowing the game down to a crawl Saturday night.
KEALAKEKUA – In front of a large and rowdy crowd Saturday night at Ellison Onizuka Gymnasium, the Konawaena Wildcats played host to the Honokaa Dragons in a physical contest that sent players from both teams to the free throw line repeatedly, slowing the game down to a crawl Saturday night.
The fans on hand seemed to be split right down the middle and each side let their presence be known on anything from foul calls against Honokaa to traveling on Konawaena. From the start to finish, the crowd booed any decision that didn’t go their team’s way.
As for what happened on the court, the Division I Wildcats used a second half defensive stand and dominated the glass to build a big lead in the third quarter, and then held on over the final eight minutes to pick up a 74-62 victory over the Division II Dragons.
The win was a big one for Konawaena. It allows the Wildcats (5-1) to stay in second place in their division. They trail only Waiakea. The Dragons (4-2) are having a good season and are showing they can hang with Division I teams.
The Wildcats showed a balanced offense with four players scoring in double digits. Maitland Akau led the way with 16 points. He was followed by Ching (12), Austin Ewing (11) and Austin Akau (10). The Dragons had three players in double digits, Charbonneau (13), Koa Callihan (11) and Kysen Datuin (10).
“Tonight was probably our best game so far and this was a big win,” said Konawaena coach Donny Awa. “We need to keep winning and have someone help us out to catch Waiakea, but I don’t see us not making the playoffs.”
Fouls were the story of the game as Konawaena and Honokaa combined for 51 on Saturday. The Wildcats edged out the Dragons with 27. The Dragons had 24, but Konawaena had a better day from the line, completed 24-of-30 attempts. Honokaa made 23-of-37.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle. The Wildcats took a 6-2 lead early in the first quarter, but the Dragons fought back to tie the game at 7-7. With the opening quarter winding down, Konawaena had a one-point advantage, but a 3-pointer by Jerome Quines with 20 seconds on the clock allowed the Dragons to take their first lead of the game. Honokaa led 16-14 at the end of the first.
Konawaena’s Maitland Akau started the second quarter with a pair of free throws and then added a steal and layup to put the Wildcats back on top. Honokaa tied the game three times in the second, with the last coming on a free throw by Jonathan Charbonneau late in the quarter to give both teams 26 points. However, the Wildcats answered with five straight points, three of which came from the line. Konawaena led 31-28 at the half.
The Wildcats came out hot after the break. Led by their defense and play under the glass by Kamakana Ching, Konawaena went on a 10-0 run. Four different players scored during the streak. After a pair of free throws by Honokaa, the Wildcats added eight more points. Kupona Kane knocked down a shot from beyond the arc and Kelson Cacoulidis completed a three-point play after being fouled on a layup. On Konawaena’s next possession, Cacoulidis added another layup to give the Wildcats a 49-30 lead.
Konawaena stretched their lead to 23 early in the fourth quarter off a pair of free throws by Ryan Malone. Honokaa continued to fight in the fourth and started to quickly cut down the deficit. They were able to knock 10 points off the Wildcat lead within two minutes. A 3-pointer by Honokaa’s Kelvin Fault made it an 11-point game late in the quarter, but Konawaena’s Austin Aukai ended the game with a free throw to give his team the 12-point win.