Konawaena boys clinch No. 1 in BIIF tourney with win

WHT STAFF REPORTS

With Konawaena’s boys basketball team trailing by seven at halftime Saturday, Wildcats assistant coach Tory Guillermo warned his players about the bitter taste they’d have in their mouths if they ended up losing to neighborhood rival Kealakehe.

“He told them, ‘If you let this slip away, this one’s going to hurt,'” Konawaena boys basketball coach Donny Awa said of Guillermo’s halftime speech.

But in the end, Konawaena hurt Kealakehe with a weapon other teams have become familiar with: a defense that forces mistakes.

The visiting Wildcats quickly erased their halftime deficit and clinched the No. 1 seed in the four-team Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I tournament with a 47-44 victory over the Waveriders.

Last season, Konawaena (6-0) beat Waiakea in the first round of the BIIF tournament but then fell to eventual champion Kamehameha-Hawaii in the semifinals with a Hawaii High School Athletic Association state tournament berth on the line. This time, Awa said, the Wildcats likely won’t face the Warriors unless they reach the championship game with a state berth in hand.

“(The No. 1 seed) is huge for us because you have to look at (Kamehameha-Hawaii) as being the big dog,” Awa said. “Your road to the championship is a little bit easier not having to play Kamehameha (in the semifinals).”

Awa said the Wildcats “played scared” in the first half but got past the Waveriders (2-4) on Saturday by creating transition offense in the second half. Awa said it only took Konawaena 2 minutes to gain the lead in the second half.

“We came out on fire in the second half,” Awa said. “A lot of those (points) we were creating turnovers, getting layups.”

With 18 seconds remaining and Konawaena leading 45-44, 6-foot-7 junior center Brenton Shropshire gave the Wildcats some breathing room, grabbing the rebound on a Kenan Gaspar miss and sticking in a putback to cap the scoring.

A last-second Waverider shot fell short, ending the game.

“I’m actually surprised they lost three games (going into Saturday) because they give us fits,” Awa said of Kealakehe. “They fight us better than anybody else.”

The home team of Kealakehe did not report statistics on the contest.

— Kamehameha 63, Pahoa 54: Senior Kekoa Turner scored 14 points, and junior Shaun Kagawa added 11 for the visiting Warriors (8-0), who pulled away in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated.

Junior forward Nick Fisher had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Daggers (6-2), and senior Devin Freitas-Gonsalves followed with 14 points.

KS-Hawaii 15 22 11 15 — 63

Pahoa 15 15 18 6 — 54

— Kohala 60, Laupahoehoe 17: Senior forward Christopher Roxburgh scored 13 points for the visiting Cowboys (5-1).

Jordan Salboro led the Seasiders (0-7) with 10 points.

Kohala 20 18 13 9 — 60

Laupahoehoe 11 1 5 0 — 17

— Hawaii Prep 55, Honokaa 48: Senior guard Dakota Berman poured in a game-high 29 points in Waimea as Ka Makani improved to 4-2.

Alika Alip led the Dragons (1-5) with 21, while Wayne Vaoga had 14.

In JV action, HPA beat Honokaa 60-36.

Honokaa 11 15 14 8 — 48

Hawaii Prep 16 10 16 13 — 55

— Ka’u 51, Keaau 49: Junior Jansen Candaroma scored 13 points, and senior Holden Galigo added 10 in Keaau as the Trojans rallied in the fourth quarter to improve to 2-7.

Senior Chase Paulino led the Cougars (1-7) with 12 points.

Ka’u 16 8 12 15 — 51

Keaau 11 16 13 9 — 49

— Hilo 72, St. Joseph 53: Jalen Carvalho scored 23 points at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium for the Vikings (5-2).

Jodd Carter added 16 points, and Rico Loeak had 10 as Hilo broke the game open with a 33-point third quarter.

Thomas Fairman scored a team-high 17 points for the Cardinals (3-5), while Austin Lee had 10.

Hilo 13 12 33 14 — 72

St. Joseph 14 10 10 19 — 53

Girls

— Kohala 46, Laupahoehoe 14: Junior forward Sheana Cazimero scored 12 points to lead the visiting Cowboys (3-4).

Vanistie Batin and Kailyn Requelman each scored five points for the Seasiders (0-7).

Kohala 14 11 10 11 — 46

Laupahoehoe 3 2 4 5 — 14