By RICK WINTERS
By RICK WINTERS
West Hawaii Today
KEALAKEKUA — After a one-year hiatus, Konawaena has returned to its usually dominating form, which led to BIIF Division I titles from 2013-15.
The Wildcats improved their league record to a perfect 10-0 with an 86-72 win over visiting Waiakea at Ellison Onizuka Gym on Monday.
With the victory, Konawaena not only clinched the league’s regular season crown, but also a state berth, and it came against the Warriors (7-3), who defeated the Wildcats in last year’s BIIF title game.
“This is real big for us,” said Konawaena coach Donnie Awa. “People say Konawaena-Kealakehe, but its Konawaena-Waiakea. Our games against them for the last five years have all had big significance from BIIF titles, to trips to states, to regular season championships. There is a rivalry there and there is a lot of respect in the rivalry.”
Konawaena’s quick rebirth has been led by a pair of seniors, Austin Aukai and Kamakana 3Ching. Aukai has been able to do his damage in space all season long and is deadly from 3-point range, while Ching, at 6-foot-3, controls the glass, but can also play like a guard.
However, it was the play of junior Hauoli Akau that stood out the most against the Warriors. Akau knocked down four shots from long range, leading the team with 19 points. Aukai followed closely with 18 and junior Austin Ewing netted 17. Ching had 12, giving the Wildcats four players in double digits.
“Hauoli was due for a game like this and he is probably our most consistent 3-point shooter,” Awa said. “He hasn’t had one of these nights for a while, but he had it when we needed it.”
Senior Calvin Mattos led Waiakea with a game-high 22 points. Sophomore Jerek Prudencio added 18 points behind five 3-pointers.
Waiakea got off to a fast start in the game, putting Konawaena in a 12-4 hole early as Mattos rolled in a pair of layups and went 2-for-2 from the line.
Konawaena’s offense finally got going midway through the opening frame. The Wildcats scored five straight baskets to go on an 11-0 run, led by a steal and two layups from Na’ea Kaiya Leleiwi.
A four-point play by Waiakea’s Prudencio after getting fouled on a 3-pointer turned the tide temporarily in the Warriors’ direction, but each team had 18 apiece after the first stanza.
Konawaena came out in the second quarter shooting, building its lead to as big as nine, but contently heading the locker room up seven. The Wildcats were led by Akau, who knocked down three treys. Aukai added five points, including a 3-point play where he used a spin move that allowed him to make the basket and pick up a foul as he fell to the ground.
Prudencio kept Waiakea in the game late in the quarter, scoring on two of the last three shots of the half. He knocked down a trey and followed with a pair of free throws with just a few seconds to go, but the Warriors trailed 36-29.
Konawaena picked up a double-digit lead early in the third quarter, scoring the first two baskets of the second half off transition. Waiakea quickly cut the deficit to six, but a Wildcat run put Konawaena up by 14 midway through the frame.
Both teams had a busy fourth quarter, but a turning point came two minutes into the period when Konawaena was able to score after a travel call on Waiakea, which gave the Wildcats the first back-to-back baskets by either team in the final quarter.
Konawaena followed that up with an eight-point run, which featured a powerful one-handed dunk by Kamakana Ching off an assist from Akau. The Wildcats built their lead back up to 14 with four minutes to play.
The win wasn’t going to come easy as Waiakea answered in the final minutes, doing a lot of its damage from the free throw line to cut the deficit to seven. On the other end, the Wildcats were struggling from the charity stripe, but their lead was never threatened thanks to the play of Aukai and Akau down the stretch, allowing Konawaena to pick up the win and clinch its ride to the state tournament.
Ka’u 71, St. Joseph 56
Joven Padrigo (16 points) and Pete Dacalio (15) led a balanced scoring effort in Pahala as the Trojans revived their Division II playoff hopes.
Ruka Suda tallied a game-high 22 points for the Cardinals (3-7), who missed on a chance to clinch a playoff spot and now are only a game ahead of the Trojans in fourth place. Manato Fukuda had 14.
Titan Ault added 14 points for Ka’u (2-8) and Andre Carvalho had 13.
While the Cardinals finish the regular season with home games against two contenders, Wednesday against Honokaa and Saturday against Kamehameha, Ka’u visits 1-10 Pahoa on Wednesday before finishing on the road against Hilo on Saturday.
If Ka’u and St. Joe finish with the same record, the Cardinals will host a BIIF play-in game.
In JV, Ka’u won 63-50.
St. Joseph 21 11 11 13–56
Ka’u 15 19 17 20–71