Best games of Monday?
Turns out I was spot on about No. 7 Roosevelt and University. I just couldn’t get there at 9 a.m. with all the usual Monday morning work. Roosevelt won 47-45 in overtime.
Pearl City, No. 3 AOP and Kapolei won early games. Kaiser advanced with a solid 60-47 win over Waiakea, which could use Jason Kauhi clone or two.
Leilehua, which is picking up momentum in the Star-Advertiser Top 10, struggled past Kalaheo 41-37.
McKinley was simply out of sync in a 63-45 shellacking by host Moanalua. The Tigers aren’t big at all, so they win a lot of games close and lose games in blowouts. Four-for-19 from the 3-point arc usually doesn’t do it. Credit Moanalua with high-energy defense. A rugged schedule hasn’t broken Na Menehune. It’s made them tougher.
No. 6 Kamehameha-Hawaii’s halfcourt traps did more damage to Kahuku than I anticipated. Sure, Galeai “Mua” Malufau was missed in the Kahuku backcourt, but the game went from 44-41 with a couple of minutes left to a 50-41 final.
Kaimuki, I’m guessing, was hampered today by missing players. The Samoa Bowl is this week, so I’d be shocked if Chester Su‘a was here playing basketball instead of visiting his beloved friends and family back home.
Kailua was simply too polished for Saint Louis in a 52-41 win. The Surfriders’ delay unit, including Chevy Mikaele and freshman Keanu Vela, was superb down the stretch. Coach Tim Harrison is molding this group of ballers and pure athletes into an intriguing squad.
While St. Joseph is back to its winning ways on Oahu (re: December 2009), the emergence of Sebi Ohara-Saft (28 points in a win over Maryknoll is noteworthy. They need that from him, especially with Jacob Andrade’s graduation.
The Farrington-Punahou game was an instant classic. So many clutch plays, even some odd moments including a technical foul. Now that the two teams have split their nonconference games, but it’s just too bad they won’t meet again. With Lancelot “K.K.” Williams on the hardwood, it would’ve made a big difference.
Houston (Alaska) and St. Francis was a low-scoring game with a great finish. The Saints were down five with a minute left, hit a 3-point shot plus a foul for a free throw (missed), and got no closer than 43-41. All sophomores and freshmen on that St. Francis team, so talented, yet so inexperienced. Good to see them playing the big boys instead of settling for JV glory.
Finally, Mililani got past Punahou I-AA — no easy feat — and seem to be bouncing back from last week’s extremely busy slate (games on Monday and Tuesday, ‘Iolani Classic, and then two OIA games Wednesday and Thursday).
Paul Honda, Star-Advertiser
The stats came directly from the tournament scorekeepers, so I’ll check with them when I get there today.
Hey Paul, you got the the Damien- Kapolei score switched around and the post for Damien had over 20 pts- #55. I know you get the leader scorers from the scorekeeper but check the books better next time.