Keaau third-year coach Jun Pagala knew he needed to turn a weakness into a strength for his basketball team to have a better shot at reaching the promised land of the postseason.
Keaau third-year coach Jun Pagala knew he needed to turn a weakness into a strength for his basketball team to have a better shot at reaching the promised land of the postseason.
Pagala wanted his Cougars to improve their free throw shooting after falling short in close games his first two years for the No. 4 seed in the four-team BIIF playoffs, losing out to Kealakehe in 2015 and Hilo last year.
Even though self-belief doesn’t score any points, he knew that valuable intangible was equally important, especially for a team that last reached the HHSAA tournament in 2009 as the league’s Division I runner-up.
In what could be viewed as an elimination game, Keaau did a better job of taking care of business, hitting free throws and playing with a resolve that was tested time and again with turnovers and late lead changes.
The visiting Cougars defeated Hilo 64-61 in overtime in a BIIF Division I showdown Saturday night at the Vikings Gym, making it impossible for the home team to reach the four-team playoffs.
The Vikings (4-6) host Kohala on Monday and Ka’u on Saturday to close their regular season.
The Cougars (7-3) visit Konawaena on Wednesday and travel to Hawaii Prep on Friday to close their regular season, a much tougher road but in better shape than the Viks or Kealakehe.
“All week, I kept telling the boys you have to believe in yourself and the team, and we can make the playoffs,” Pagala said.
The Cougars are not there yet, but they’re really close and within smelling distance.
Kealakehe lost to St. Joseph on Saturday. The Waveriders (4-5) host Laupahoehoe on Monday, visit Waiakea on Wednesday and travel to Honokaa on Saturday to close their regular season.
If two teams are tied for the last spot in the four-team BIIF playoffs, a tiebreaker game will be held.
Sometimes stats paint a very clear picture.
As Pagala predicated free throws made a whale of a difference. Keaau sank 28 of 41 or 68 percent from the line while Hilo went 19 of 36 or 54 percent, including 8 of 21 in the first half, at one point missing seven in a row.
“We wanted to focus on our free throws this year,” Pagala said. “Last year and the year before we lost close games. We wanted to get our free throws in the 70 to 80 percent range.”
Rico Handy scored 24 points, going 15 of 20 from the free throw line after tagging fouls on drives to the rim, Patrick Mears added 15 points, and Branden Pagala had eight points for the Cougars, who converted 36 percent (16 of 45) from the field against Hilo’s tenacious man defense.
Liko Medeiros scored 18 points, all in the second half, while Isaac Liu and Crescen Nobriga had 10 points each to lead Hilo, which shot 34 percent (18 of 53) from the floor and worked the ball inside on a consistent basis against a man and 1-2-2 zone.
The Cougars entered the fourth quarter with a 39-35 lead that slipped away when the Viks reeled off a 9-0 run. Lawrence Padasdao scored off a turnover to cap the scoring spree, which pushed Hilo ahead 48-45 with under three minutes left.
From there, the contest turned into a roller-coaster.
Handy dropped a layup for a 53-52 lead with 29.8 seconds remaining. But Hilo’s Kekaukahi Alameda sank 1 of 2 free throws for a 53-53 tie with 20.1 seconds left.
Then the two teams traded turnovers, first Keaau with 13.4 on the clock, then Hilo with 4.4 seconds to go. Before the Cougars could attempt a game-winning shot, they committed another giveaway with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Hilo inbounded from half-court, and Medeiros’ Hail Mary when unanswered when it bounced off the backboard and didn’t come close to going in, forcing overtime.
The four minutes in OT served as a highlight reel for Handy, who attacked the rim and made 4 of 6 free throws; Keaau was 7 of 10 while Hilo went 2 of 4 on the line.
Handy swished a pair of free throws for a 58-57 lead with 1:40 left. Then after a Hilo miss, Handy weaved to the basket and buried a layup to increase the advantage to 60-57.
Down 29-22 at halftime, Medeiros caught fire and scored nine consecutive points to get Hilo within 33-31. But Branden Pagala stopped the bleeding with a floater in the lane, and Handy followed with a layup.
The Vikings forced 23 Keaau turnovers and capitalized with a 10-2 scoring edge. Hilo had 25 giveaways. But points off turnovers weren’t enough to overcome 54 percent shooting at the free throw line.
As Keaau coach Pagala envisioned, free throws, and the Cougars’ belief in themselves, did the job of taking care of business.
“It was an exciting game. Hilo gives us a hard-fought game every year,” he said. “Give credit to their coaching staff and players. They never gave up.
“Bur our boys believed in themselves, and now we’ve got a chance to go to BIIFs.”
In the JV, it was Keaau 49, Hilo 46.
Keaau 16 13 10 14 11 — 64
Hilo 9 13 13 18 8 — 61
Hawaii Prep 60, Waiakea 44
Dylan Dikobo scored 14 points, Matija Vitovovic added 13 and Michael Hanano had 12 as Ka Makani (6-3) went on the road for their best win of the season.
Calvin Mattos led the Warriors (7-2) with 20 points.
HPA 12 12 24 12 –60
Waiakea 9 10 11 14–44
Kohala 64, Pahoa 34
Marc Francisco scored a season-high 30 points at the Daggers’ gym as the Cowboys (4-5) all but clinched a spot in the Division II playoffs.
Ryan Tatasi led Pahoa (1-10) with 14 points.
Kohala 12 17 21 14–64
Pahoa 6 7 13 8–34
Kamehameha 52, Ka’u 38
Nalu Kahapea scored 21 points in Pahala and Payton Grahovac added 13 as the Warriors (9-2) won their sixth game in a row.
Andre Carvalho scored 12 points for the Trojans (1-8), who need to beat St. Joseph on Monday at home to keep their Division II playoff hopes alive.
In Division I, it’s looking more and more like a Kamehameha-Waiakea semifinal is on tap Feb. 8 at Hilo Civic.
In JV, Kamehameha won 51-25.
KS-Hawaii 10 16 13 13 – 52
Ka’u 2 11 16 7 – 36
Friday
Kastle Quiocho scored 12 points and Cullen Cariaga hit the game-winning free throw with no time left on the clock as the Warriors came from behind to win at home.
Abraham Kalavi led the Waveriders win 20.
Kealakehe 4 14 18 4 – 40
KS-Hawaii 10 7 14 10 –41