KEALAKEKUA — He regularly threads passes to teammates cutting to the basket, leading to easy lay-ups in half-court sets.
KEALAKEKUA — He regularly threads passes to teammates cutting to the basket, leading to easy lay-ups in half-court sets.
But Konawaena’s Brandon Awa quickly points out that a handful of players on the Wildcats’ boys basketball team can pass the ball just as well, and the junior point guard was the beneficiary Saturday at Onizuka Gymnasium.
Awa tallied 19 points and four assists for an efficient Wildcats offense that clicked on all cylinders in a 77-45 victory over Pahoa on the final day of Konawaena’s round-robin preseason tournament.
“We weren’t rushing (shots), we were taking our time, and we had a lot of ball movement,’’ said Awa, who nailed three 3-pointers and shot 8-of-9 from the field. “We have three to four guys that play like a point guard.’’
Awa included Kenan Gaspar (seven points), Jonah Bredeson (10 points) and Trevor Tanaka in that group.
Bredeson had three assists, while Gaspar and Tanaka each had two for a Konawaena team that committed just eight turnovers and improved to 6-1 in nonconference play this season. All 11 players on the Wildcats’ roster scored against the Daggers.
Konawaena jumped out to a 31-6 lead midway through the second quarter, blitzing Pahoa with a transition offense that generated 14 fast-break points.
Then Konawaena’s unselfish play stood out.
The Wildcats’ first two baskets of the second half came in its half-court offense, with Nick Mims turning crisp passes into the paint from Tanaka and Brenton Shropshire into layups.
Mims finished with eight points, Pookela Hanato-Smith had nine, and Shropshire had seven.
“I want them to run the offense and get a good shot,’’ Konawaena coach Donny Awa said. “I thought they did that.
“The real good teams — you’re not going to be able to turn them over.’’
But the Wildcats did just that to Pahoa in the first half, thanks in large part to a zone defense that forced seven turnovers in the first quarter.
Gaspar and Bredeson creating havoc by getting into the passing lanes, and a few well-timed traps in the corners made getting into any offensive rhythm difficult for Pahoa.
The result: a 20-2 Konawaena lead after the first quarter and 1-for-8 shooting from the Daggers in the opening period.
“We’re working on the 2-3 zone, and I like the way they’re figuring it out,’’ Donny Awa said.
A day earlier, the Daggers defeated Kealakehe 51-41 despite taking the court with half its team.
Six Pahoa players did not play in the tournament because of disciplinary reasons, and Daggers coach Marc Saito said those players owned up to their mistakes during a team meeting after the victory against the Waveriders.
Saito called the meeting a “bonding” session, and he was surprised it didn’t create more energy going into the team’s game against Konawaena.
Senior guard Nick Fisher led the Daggers with 13 points, sophomore guard Tolby Saito followed with 11, and senior forward Joseph Lefiti had nine.
“We had no effort,’’ Marc Saito said.
Pahoa 2 11 11 21 — 45
Konawaena 20 17 14 24 — 77
c Konawaena JV 48, Kamehameha-Hawaii JV 38: Kaimi Wilson scored 17 points, and Kevin Medeiros added nine for a Konawaena team that overcame a 34-28 deficit going into the fourth quarter.
Naika Penaroza led the Warriors with 14 points, and Kaeo Batacan had nine.
Konawaena 9 8 11 17 — 45
KS-Hawaii 13 8 13 4 — 38