By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Javan Perez is the latest name out of a hat to spearhead Hawaii Prep’s scoring load, which is usually bolstered with a strong supporting cast.
Perez scored 20 points to spark a 64-61 overtime victory over Honokaa in a Division II showdown on Monday night at Castle Gym.
It was just another thrilling Ka Makani overtime victory, the second at home with the first a 70-64 double OT win against Hilo on Jan. 23.
Earlier, HPA suffered a double OT 73-69 loss to Kamehameha in its season opener. The next week, Kealakehe emerged with a 53-51 overtime win over the visiting Ka Makani.
Against the Dragons (7-3), Matija Vitorovic added 19 points and Michael Hanano had 13 points for the host Ka Makani (7-3), who got their necessary scoring balance and enough defensive stops.
Kamuela Spencer-Herring scored 16 points, Kelvin Falk 13 and Kea Callihan added 10 points for Honokaa, which led 45-38 after three quarters.
The outright BIIF regular season champion earns the league’s first berth to the HHSAA tournament. If there’s a tie for first place, both state berths would be up for grabs in the four-team BIIF playoffs.
Ka Makani coach Fred Wawner called Saturday’s 60-44 win over Waiakea, the defending BIIF Division I champion, the program’s most complete game in three years.
Again, it was a different leading scorer. Dylan Ngango Dikobo led the charge with 14 points, Vitorovic had 13 points, and best supporting scorer Hanano chipped in 12 points.
Calvin Mattos, who shoulders his team’s scoring load every game, led the Warriors with 20 points.
Last Monday at home, Jonah Hurney scored 22 points and Vitorovic had 19 points in a 70-64 double OT win over Hilo.
But back to the Honokaa neighborhood battle because it felt like a preview for the BIIF postseason. The Dragons and Ka Makani have never in the BIIF championship.
For decades, the trademark of the Dragons has been their relentless man defense. Their lineup is filled with long and athletic hoopsters. It’s sort of an annual crop tradition.
“The key going in is we had to really handle their pressure because they come at you in waves,” Wawner said. “We were down by 10 points in the third quarter and leaking oil pretty bad, but we found a way to score.
“It was a great high school basketball game. It was a championship environment. We had a great crowd in Waimea. Both teams made plays for sure. It’s our fourth league OT game. We’re giving the fans their money’s worth.”
Vitorovic, Hanano, Hurney, and Ngango Dikobo are returning starters, so it’s no surprise when they take turns as the leading scorer.
Perez is just a freshman. He’s also a 6-foot guard, who shares ball-handling duties with Hurney, a 5-10 junior guard. And Perez, who’s from Kohala, is no ordinary rookie; he can splash baskets.
“Javan got a lot of his points on dribble drives and in transition,” Wawner said. “When we were able to handle Honokaa’s press, he had to make a decision: go to the rim or slow down. He recognized he had an opportunity to be aggressive. He got inside to the hoop and got to the free throw line a few times. He’s a good shooter.”
Vitorovic remains the most versatile scorer because the sophomore guard can stick a 3-pointer, hit a mid-range elbow jumper or soar to the hoop.
“He’s at his best when he’s driving and getting to the rim,” Wawner said. “He did make some 3s at critical times, and he made mid-range shots, and we needed every one of them.”
In 2012, HPA won its first BIIF Division II title and completed a transformation from an offseason football training sport to a legitimate state contender.
In 2014, the BIIF runner-up Ka Makani captured their first HHSAA championship. But they’ve missed states the last two years.
Different leading scorers have come and graduated. But HPA’s hallmark of disciplined defense has always stayed in place.
It helps that all the players have a good deal of height. Vitorovic is 6-4, Ngango Dikobo is 6-2, Hanano is 6-1, Perez is 6-0, and Hurney is 5-10.
Against the Dragons, a box-and-one was used on the athletic 5-11 Falk and crossed fingers on the muscular 6-3 Spencer-Herring, who has a soft touch for a big guy.
“The big kid has really improved, and he’s a load to handle,” Wawner said of the Honokaa junior center. “I wouldn’t say we had an answer for him and Falk. We tried to pack it in and contain their drives and close out on Falk on the perimeter. We mostly chased Falk and mixed different zones.
“This is something we can build on. Saturday night at Waiakea, we played our best game in the three years of our program. The kids entered the game against Honokaa a little more confident.”
The four-team BIIF playoffs, for Division I and II, will be held Thursday, Feb. 9 and Friday, Feb. 10 at Hilo Civic.
“We respect Honokaa, and we know we’ll see them again,” Wawner said. “We’re still a young team (Ngango Dikobo is the only senior starter) and still make a ton of mistakes.
“We still have to find ways to get stops at critical times. Our biggest challenge is finding scoring in later parts of the game.”
Actually, Coach Fred doesn’t have to worry about that. As recent games have shown, he just needs to pick a name out of a hat.
In the JV, it was Honokaa 42, HPA 40.
Honokaa 7 21 17 8 8 — 61
HPA 13 16 9 15 11 — 64