It has been a long road for Kolten Caravalho, but he isn’t alone.
The Honokaa junior guard was ready when his number was called, and he banked a tough 12-footer in traffic at the buzzer to lead the Dragons to a 37-36 win over host Radford on Wednesday at James Alegre Invitational. He was bumped by a defender on the shot, which banged off the glass, off the rim, back off the glass and through as the buzzer sounded.
Caravalho didn’t play last year after his mother died. Honokaa coach Jayme Carvalho was happy to see his nephew back on the court this year.
“He came out this year and he’s leaving it all on the court,” Carvalho said.
Radford led 36-35 in the final seconds when Honokaa missed a 3-point shot. The ball was jammed between the rim and the backboard — a jump-ball situation. At first, referees indicated it was Radford’s ball. However, after the teams met during a time out, the call was possession was corrected and Honokaa inbounded the ball on the baseline with 2.3 seconds left.
The Dragons ran a play that was intended for a layup. Caravalho, the third option, went from the left wing to the left corner, where he caught the ball and was immediately challenged.
“He didn’t score all game until this play,” Carvalho noted.
Tyler Fojas led Honokaa with 10 points. The Dragons were less than 24 hours removed from a 95-47 walloping at the hands of Hawaii Baptist. The host Dragons made 17 3-pointers in the win.
“We were still on the plane mentally. We missed about 20 layups and they made about 20 treys. Our problem is we were settling for outside shots. We don’t have Kevin Caulk anymore,” Carvalho said, referring to their top scorer last season. “We have to go inside.”
E.J. Navarro had eight points to lead Radford. Matt Lukins added seven, including a 3-pointer that gave the Rams a 36-35 lead with a minute to play.
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