Hilo 16 14 8 12 — 50
HILO WITHSTANDS MOANALUA RALLY
BY KEVIN JAKAHI | STEPHENS MEDIA
Jalen Carvalho came to the rescue when Hilo’s 18-point lead kept shrinking against Moanalua in the first round of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I boys basketball tournament Wednesday at McKinley High on Oahu.
The 6-foot-2 sophomore pulled the trigger on a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, pushing the Vikings ahead 48-45 before senior guard Kainoa Kawaha followed with a steal and layup for the finishing touches in a 50-45 victory in a game televised statewide on OC16.
Carvalho had a performance to remember: 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and four rebounds.
“I was feeling confident all the way,” he said. “My shot felt good, and my teammates kept looking for me at the 3-point line, and I had to sink it.”
Jodd Carter added 10 points, and Kamu Patnaude had nine for the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up Vikings (13-3), who face No. 1 seed Punahou (11-1) at 7 p.m. today in the quarterfinals.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Carvalho said. “They’re obviously bigger than us. But I think we can hang with them. We’ll fight them through the entire game and give it all we’ve got.”
BIIF champion and No. 3 seed Kamehameha-Hawaii (13-1) plays Academy of the Pacific (9-4) at 5 p.m. today at Radford High — a game that will be televised on OC16.
Carvalho drilled his first three 3-point attempts and had 11 first-half points to help Hilo to a 30-16 lead at the break.
Kawaha scored on a layup to start the third quarter, and Drew Kell followed with a putback, stretching the lead to 34-16.
But from there, Na Menehune (8-4), the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s No. 3 team, kept chipping away.
Kahanu Puulei-Auld scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, with his last knotting the score at 43 with 2:28 remaining and capping an 11-3 run.
Alex Hutson added nine points, and Josh Kang had six for Moanalua, which shot just 33 percent (16-of-48).
On the next possession, Carter cut under the basket on the weak side, and Carvalho spotted him for a layup and 45-43 lead.
Puulei-Auld answered with a steal and layup to tie the score again with 42 seconds left, setting the stage for Carvalho’s clutch 3-pointer.
His first three treys all came in the first quarter. Then he missed his next two. On his last attempt, Carvalho was unguarded out on the perimeter and didn’t hesitate at all to fire away.
Hilo finished at 42 percent (18-of-43) shooting, including 4-of-10 from 3-point territory — none bigger than the last shot by Carvalho.
“It felt good. I was wide open, and Kamu passed me the ball,” Carvalho said. “I wasn’t expecting it. But I just felt confident when I shot it.”
Moanalua 10 6 16 13 — 45
Hilo 16 14 8 12 — 50