Konawaena point guard Austin Ewing was supposed to pass, which is in his job description, but it’s a good thing that he’s a clutch shooter. ADVERTISING Konawaena point guard Austin Ewing was supposed to pass, which is in his job
Konawaena point guard Austin Ewing was supposed to pass, which is in his job description, but it’s a good thing that he’s a clutch shooter.
Ewing hit an off-balanced jump shot as time expired and the Wildcats prevailed over Kamehameha 44-42 in the BIIF Division I boys basketball semifinals on Friday night, keeping hope alive for a title fourpeat.
No. 2 seed Konawaena (12-1) will play No. 1 Waiakea (13-0) for the BIIF championship at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The Wildcats are seeking their fourth straight BIIF title while the Warriors last won a league crown in 2009.
“It was a great game and they played us basket for basket,” Konawaena coach Donny Awa said. “It came to the last possession. Austin is so athletic that he can get his shot off.”
The season is over for No. 3 seed Kamehameha (9-4), which loses senior starters Bayley Manliguis, Pukana Vincent, Kaeo Batacan and Colin Calip.
In the fourth quarter, Solomon Kia hit a baseline jump shot off a dribble-drive assist from Manliguis, that tied it 42-42 with 2:27 left.
From there, it got crazy. It was turnover city. There were three straight giveaways, adding to the drama and loud atmosphere.
The Wildcats took an early shot and missed, and the Warriors snagged the rebound but turned the ball over with 1:41 remaining.
Then more excitement was added to a boiling pot of emotion.
The Wildcats committed a giveaway with 1:21 left.
The Kamehameha faithful exploded for the golden opportunity.
But the Warriors turned the ball over with 35 seconds left, their 14th giveaway and most painful of the entire season. The Wildcats finished with 12 turnovers; some led to points, but none were fatal.
When Ewing inbounded the ball, there was less than five seconds on the clock. He got the ball back and shot a jumper from the free throw line. By the time it swished through the net, the game was in the books, adding another buzzer-beat in the BIIF semifinals for the day.
In the BIIF Division II semifinals, Manato Fukuda sank a layup at the buzzer as St. Joseph stunned Hawaii Prep 42-41.
Ewing scored 15 points and Austin Aukai added eight points to lead the Wildcats, who shot 42 percent (15 of 36) from the floor and made 8 of 14 free throws.
Vincent and Solomon Escalante scored nine points each and Nalu Kahapea added eight points for the Warriors, who converted 45 percent from the field and sank only 1 of 3 free throws.
The Warriors didn’t attack the rim like Kona. Instead they fired from long distance. Vincent had three treys, while Batacan and Manliguis nailed one 3-pointer each.
Ewing and Paka Cacoulidis each had a 3-pointer in the second half.
In the third quarter Vincent drilled two timely 3-pointers, hitting the first to close Kona’s lead to 30-28 and his second to get the Warriors closer, 36-35 with 24 seconds left until the final eight minutes.
Konawaena led 22-19 at halftime as both teams played with different styles.
The Warriors just couldn’t get entry passes to their tough-nosed 6-foot-4 sophomore forward Kahapea, who had two points in the first half, so they started shooting from long distance and buried four 3-pointers.
The Wildcats attacked the rim, soaring for layups or working the ball inside with their precision post passing.
Ewing was a layup machine with four drives to the hoop for eight points in the first half. But when the fourth quarter arrived, his clutch shooting carried his team to victory and a fourth consecutive appearance in the BIIF championship.
“In that situation, timing was running down, and we had to do something,” Awa said. “I think Saturday against Waiakea is going to be another one like this. Waiakea is undefeated, and we’ve been playing pretty good.
“It’s a relief that we won and are going back to states. But the goal is to win the BIIF championship.”
Waiakea 68
Hilo 66
Hilo had a good shot, make that two shots, to extend its season.
Waiakea survived continuing a quest for its first league title since 2009.
With 6.5 seconds left, the Vikings inbounded from halfcourt and a perfect pass found Lawrence Padasdao in the right corner. The junior forward got a clean look and launched a shot, but it bounced off the rim.
Good fortune went to Hilo because Kaimana Kawaha was stationed at the left elbow. The ball bounced right to the senior guard, who grabbed the rebound and fired. But his putback also couldn’t find the bottom the net, and good fortune went the other way.
Noah Ferriera scored 23 points, Calvin Mattos 20, Kahinu Alapai nine and Louie Ondo had seven points for the Warriors (13-0), who already have a berth to the HHSAA state tournament, which will be held Feb. 17-20 on Oahu.
Isaac Liu scored 24 points, Padasdao had 21 and Josh Breitbarth added 13 points for the Vikings (6-7), who last went to states in 2012.
It was the final game for Hilo senior starters Breitbarth, Kawaha and E.J. Narido.
The fourth quarter was action-packed because both teams hit almost everything. Waiakea buried 6 of 12 field goals while Hilo was 5 of 10 from the field.
At the line, the Warriors sank 7 of 11 free throws while the Vikings went 5 of 6.
Liu hit a jump shot to give Kamehameha a 59-55 lead with under four minutes, but Waiakea’s perimeter scoring power reversed the lead.
Ferreira got a layup, Ondo followed with another, was fouled and hit the free throw, then Mattos dropped another layup for a 62-59 lead with 2:58 left.
From there, Liu got Hilo within a point twice. He swished a 3-pointer and later made a pair of free throws to close Waiakea’s lead to 67-66 with 16.9 seconds remaining.
Mattos hit one of two free throws for the final margin, 68-66, with 14.1 seconds to play, setting up Hilo’s two shots to keep the thriller going.
