HILO — Honoka‘a High’s boys varsity basketball notched its second straight road win, downing homestanding Waiakea 60-46 on Monday night at Hilo High.
The first quarter started slowly as both teams put forth strong defenses, but some quick adjustments led the Dragons over the Warriors 14-4.
WHS upped the intensity on both sides of the court, but came just short of matching Honoka‘a as the Dragons bested the Warriors again, 9-8, in the second quarter to enter halftime leading 25-12.
HHS came out hot in the third frame, dropping 19 points while Waiakea could only respond with seven.
The Warriors, however, did not give in — and outscored Honoka‘a 27-18 in the final frame.
Josiah Amuimuia led WHS with 16 points. Teammate Haven Dewees put up 11 points.
The Dragons were led by Mauloa Tagabi’s 15 points and David Aiona’s 13. Elijah Kaupu-Alip and Enry Bemry each scored nine points for Honoka‘a.
The Dragons moved to 2-0 in Big island Interscholastic (BIIF) play and 3-2 overall. They will head south down the coast again on Thursday to face Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i for the Warriors’ BIIF opener. JV tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m., varsity will follow.
Now 2-1 in regular season BIIF play and 2-4 overall, Waiakea will finish off its three-game homestead with a 6 p.m. Thursday matchup against Christian Liberty Academy (0-1).
JV score: Waiakea wins 49-33. Top scorers: Honoka‘a’s Waimanu O’Neil with 16 points, Waiakea’s Aidan Moszkowicz with ten points.
Wildcats win again
Konawaena girls basketball added to its undefeated BIIF season Monday night by beating Waiakea handily 60-44.
The Wildcats were led by senior Tavina Harris with 18 points, followed by junior teammate Kaitea Galletes with 15. Kona continues to be the top-scoring team on the island, averaging an impressive 72.5 points per game.
The Warriors were led by Pua‘ena Herrington, who notched a game-high 25 points. Jolie Mantz had 12.
Next up, the Wildcats (10-4 overall, 4-0 BIIF) will play Kea‘au on Dec. 20 on the road. Waiakea (10-3 overall, 6-1 BIIF) will travel to Honoka‘a to take on the Dragons on Dec. 21 on the road.
JV score: Konawaena won 47-28 over the Waiakea.
Warriors beat Ka‘u
Last weekend, Waiakea girls basketball was victorious Saturday at Ka‘u — crushing the Trojans 72-27 for its ninth win of the season.
Ka‘u (1-3 overall) next travels to Kona to play Kealakehe at 6 p.m. Saturday on the road.
Warriors escape Ka Makani
In a back-and-forth affair, Hawaii Prep boys basketball fell short to Waiakea on Saturday on the road by a score of 55-49.
Ka Makani’s Bruce Lee scored a game-high 14 points — tying his season average — while teammate Cam Root added 11. The Warriors had nine players score, led by Josiah Amuimula with 12. Amuimula is contuining his strong season of 13.5 points per game.
HPA (0-4 overall) will host St. Joseph’s at 6 p.m. Friday in Castle Gym.
Kea‘au routs SJS
The Cougars’ boys varsity team dominated the Cardinals during their season opener Friday night at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium by a score of 64-37.
Kea‘au outscored St. Joseph 21-6 in the first quarter, 32-16 in the second and 43-21 in the third.
KHS was led by the scoring of Arvin Gonzales, who dropped 13 points. Thayne Nakoa also contributed 11 points for the Cougars.
SJS was led by Amari Wiedemeier with 15 points and Koen De La Cruz with ten points.
St. Joseph (0-1) will be back in action on Wednesday, playing away at Kohala High.
The Cougars are now 1-1 in BIIF play, and will face their next test on Thursday (Dec. 14), hosting Hilo High (4-0).
Vikings rout Waveriders
The Hilo High boys varsity team crushed the visiting Waveriders on Friday night, moving to 3-0 in BIIF play in the 64-27 win.
The Vikings quickly put distance between them and Kealakehe, outscoring the Waveriders 35-16 during the first two quarters.
Payton Pana led Hilo with 19 points. Ikena Leao scored 12, and Jason Biruetta and Jared Fuerte each scored 11.
Kealakehe was led by Demarion Ollaway with 18 points.
Hilo’s next outing will be 7 p.m. tonight at home against Pahoa High (2-0).
Kealakehe (0-2) will return to the isle’s leeward side on Saturday (Dec. 16) to face KS-Hawai‘i (0-0 BIIF, 1-1 ovr.).
