Ka’u relied on the scoring trio of Titan Ault, Andre Carvalho, and Joven Padrigo, made key defensive stops, and had more than enough heart to overcome a St. Joseph opponent that played with a champion’s determination. ADVERTISING Ka’u relied on
Ka’u relied on the scoring trio of Titan Ault, Andre Carvalho, and Joven Padrigo, made key defensive stops, and had more than enough heart to overcome a St. Joseph opponent that played with a champion’s determination.
The Trojans prevailed over the Cardinals 49-46 in a BIIF Division II tournament play-in game Monday night at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, earning their first trip to the postseason.
“I liked how we communicated and secured the win,” Padrigo said. “It just feels great. I’ve never been to the postseason for basketball. It’s my senior year and last year.”
Ka’u athletic director Kalei Namohala is in her seventh year at the Pahala school. It’s coach Daryl Shibuya’s third year, and neither can remember if the Trojans have ever been to the BIIF postseason.
Not the HHSAA tournament, mind you.
It’s a big step in the right direction for the Trojans, who have a brand new gym and club teams on the rise.
The Trojans have always been known for being better in other sports.
In 2014, Ka’u captured the inaugural BIIF eight-man football title, their first since 1962. The Trojans won their first BIIF Division II volleyball championship in 2012.
Maybe coach Shibuya’s hoopsters on the club level keep rising and make big noise on the basketball court. At least, the seniors Ault, Padrigo, Pete Dacalio, Buddy Flores, Richard Souza III, and Nainoa Ke set a solid foundation.
And they took down the defending BIIF D-II champion Cardinals, who suffered a night-long cold spell from the field, shooting just 26 percent (14 of 53), including 4 of 17 from 3-point range.
Ka’u (4-9) plays No. 1 seed Honokaa (9-3) in the BIIF semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Hilo Civic. In the regular season, the Dragons defeated the Trojans 52-22.
As the BIIF regular season champion, Honokaa already has a berth to the HHSAA tournament, slated Feb. 15-17 on Oahu.
The Trojans need to defeat the Dragons and win the BIIF championship to earn their first HHSAA berth and league title.
The season is over for St. Joe (3-10), which loses four seniors: Keahi Costa, Aka Rodriguez-Herring, Alika Faumuina, and Manato Fukuda, who was out with a leg injury.
It was a disappointing fall from the top for the Cards, who secured the BIIF title last season with a pair of one-point wins over Hawaii Prep in the semifinals and Honokaa in the championship, overcoming an 18-point deficit.
In their first meeting, the Trojans thumped the Cardinals 71-56 in Pahala, where Ka’u relied on a second-half scoring burst, 37-22, to pull away.
It was much closer in the rematch.
After Flores swished two free throws for a 49-46 lead with 12.4 seconds left, Ruka Suda raced down court and fired a 3-pointer. His shot missed, St. Joe grabbed the rebound, and launched another 3-ball that missed as well as time ran out.
Ault scored 12 points, Carvalho 11 points off the bench, and Padrigo added 10 points for the Trojans, who shot 40 percent (21 of 52) from the floor, including 4 of 21 from beyond the arc.
The Trojans had 19 turnovers, including 12 in the second half, offering St. Joe extra possessions. The Cards had 14 turnovers, but both neutralized each other and scored 12 points off giveaways.
Despite the shooting blues, the Cardinals stuck around because they kept getting to the free throw line to stop the clock. They sank 15 of 22, including 7 of 10 in the fourth quarter; Ka’u made just 3 of 6 free throws overall.
Ruka sank 9 of 13 free throws, including a pair to cut the Trojans’ lead to 47-45 with 51 seconds remaining. Then freshman guard Keegan Scanlan made one of two free throws to make it a one-point game with 26.6 seconds left.
The Trojans charged into halftime with a 23-14 lead, behind Ault’s eight points in the first quarter, and the rim shrank in the second period for St. Joe, which went 1 of 9 from the field and scored just two points.
Ka’u played a 2-3 zone while St. Joe relied on a 1-3-1 that the Trojans broke down with dribble-dishes to Ault and kickouts to Padrigo, who had seven points in the first half, including a 3-pointer.
In the third quarter, Carvalho got hot and scored nine points, dropping in a pair of layups, hitting a 3-pointers, and scoring under the basket on a nice feed from Ault.
The Trojans entered the final eight minutes ahead 38-32. But Faumuina scored with 1:25 left, and Suda and Scanlan went a combined 3 of 4 from the line to give the defending champs a shot at a comeback.
Flores was fouled and clanked the front end of a one-and-one free throw with 21.4 seconds left. But his two free throws nearly 10 seconds later gave Ka’u enough breathing room.
“St. Joe came to play. They’re tough,” Shibuya said. “But we’ve played consistent all year round. They’re a good bunch of kids, and they’ve got heart.”
Ka’u 15 8 15 11 — 49
St. Joseph 12 2 18 14 — 46
