UPDATE: OIA-ILH Challenge, Day 1

Friday’s schedule
OIA-ILH Challenge
Moanalua H.S.
>> 4 p.m. Kamehameha vs. Moanalua
>> 5:30 p.m. St. Francis vs. Kapolei
>> 7 p.m. ‘Iolani vs. Kailua
>> 8:30 p.m. Punahou vs. Kalaheo

Thursday’s games
The first day of the Challenge ends with the Interscholastic League of Honolulu victorious in three of the four games, though the last two games of the day were nail-biters. If Moanalua had hung on to win, the series would be even at 2. Then again, we don’t know what this would’ve been like had Damien been involved.

No. 5 St. Francis 65, No. 10 Moanalua 61, FINAL
Isaiah Sugiura’s pull-up 3 is off target and Kanalulu rebounds with 3.4 seconds left. He makes one of two at the foul line to ice the win for the Saints. Even with leading scorer Kameron Ng sidelined by an ankle injury, they rallied for a solid win over a good Moanalua squad.

Kordel Ng was sensational with a flurry of hang-time, body-control layups against Moanalua’s bigs, including the 6-5 McRaven. Ng finished with 21 of his 28 points int he second half. Kanalulu had 11 points and seven boards despite foul trouble.

Robinson finished with 20 points and four rebounds. McRaven had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Sugiura tallied 12 points.

No. 5 St. Francis 64, Moanalua 61, :09, Q4
Robinson drives for a layup, then fouls out with :09 left. The Saints make one of two FTs, time out Moanalua with 9 ticks left.

No. 5 St. Francis 63, Moanalua 59, :20.8

No. 5 St. Francis 62, Moanalua 53, 1:53, Q4
Ng’s amazing second half continues. He has scored eight more points and now has 22 in the second half, and his dish to Kanalulu gives St. Francis a nine-point lead. Moanalua’s crowd is stunned.

No. 5 St. Francis 44, Moanalua 41, end Q3
Big quarter by the Saints, with Ng driving for a ton of points. He scored 14 in the quarter.

Moanalua 28, No. 5 St. Francis 24, halftime
The Saints rallied on the long-range shooting of Titus Liu, whose second trey gave them a 19-17 lead. They miss Kanalulu’s points, size and hustle in the paint, however. Geremy Robinson has 13 points to lead Na Menehune. McRaven has five points and six boards. Liu has nine points and Ng has seven to lead St. Francis.

Moanalua 15, No. 5 St. Francis 11, end Q1
Saints shot 3-for-14 from the field but trail by just two buckets. They also switched from 2-3 zone to man and had Kordel Ng (5-9) covering 6-5 DiAeris McRaven. Nalu Knmalulu hustled for six points and four rebounds to keep the Saints close.

Kailua 68, No. 8 Kamehameha 63, FINAL
Isaiah Hopson finishes with 25 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute. Everett Torres-Kahapea put the game away, hitting five of seven foul shots in the final quarter. Torres-Kahapea tallied 22 points as the OIA claimed its first win over the ILH in this three-day event.

Christmas Togiai led Kamehameha with 20 points and 16 rebounds while running the point. Paliku Kamaka, who hit two treys in the third quarter during Kamehameha’s 17-2 run, finished with 12 points.

Kailua 52, No. 8 Kamehameha 46, end Q3
The Surfriders stemmed the tide with a 9-2 run after Kailua got within four points. Kamehameha got a putback at the buzzer to get back within six.

Kailua 43, No. 8 Kamehameha 39, 3:52, Q3
The Warriors are trapping and turning the game around with a 17-2 run.

If Kailua hangs on to win, it will be the OIA’s first win over the ILH today. Since the inception of this tournament, the ILH has scored more wins over the OIA each time. The most entertaining game I can recall was when Farrington outscored Maryknoll in overtime, 90-75, a few years back. I believe that was Jacob McEnroe’s senior year with Isaiah Smith and Isaiah Visoria at guard.

Kailua 41, No. 8 Kamehameha 22, halftime
Isaiah Hopson turned it on in the second quarter with 12 of his 15 points. He has done a bit of everything: a breakaway dunk off a steal, a couple of 3-pointers, and 3-for-5 shooting at the free-throw line. At 6-foot-6, active and agile, he’s a difficult matchup even for the big, athletic Warriors. Everett Torres-Kahapea has been savvy all preseason, and he has 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting, plus two assists.

Sophomore Oni Pung leads Kamehameha with seven points.

Kailua 13, No. 8 Kamehameha 11, end Q1

No. 2 Punahou 71, Kapolei 41, final
Kaulana Makaula led the Buffanblu with 10 points, adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals in limited action. The Buffablu played reserves for well over half the game after taking a 20-9 lead into the second quarter. Center Duke Clemens added nine points.

Nate Whitehurst led the Hurricanes with 14 points and added four rebounds. Kainoa Mane provided energy and a strong presence in the post with six points and four boards off the bench.

No. 2 Punahou 55, Kapolei 32, end Q3

No. 2 Punahou 41, Kapolei 19, halftime
Excellent interior passing by the Buffanblu against Kapolei’s 2-3 zone. Kaulana Makaula has 8 points to lead Punahou (5-1). Duke Clemens, Makaula, Jakob Kimura all moving the ball to the open man in the key. Hurricanes have 8 pts from Nate Whitehurst, but have committed 19 turnovers against Punahou’s fullcourt pressure.

No. 4 ‘Iolani 56, No. 7 Kalaheo 52, final
Noah Bumanglag swished a 10-foot runner to beat the shot clock with less than 2 minutes left as the Raiders (4-0 overall) overcame a late rally by the Mustangs.

The senior guards’ all-net shot stifled a remarkable comeback by Kalaheo, which trailed 25-4 at the onset. Kalaheo had pulled within 50-44 with 2:13 after consecutive buckets by Ryan Pardini (14 points).

After Bumanglag beat the shot clock, Kalaheo got no closer than the final margin. Aaron Baker came off the bench to hit two 3-pointers for Kalaheo (5-3 overall). On the whole, Kalaheo shot 3-for-24 from 3-point range, including 0-for-13 in the first half. ‘Iolani shot 8-for-26 from the arc.

‘Iolani roared to its lead behind tough fullcourt man defense that forced six first-quarter turnovers by Kalaheo. The Raiders led 17-4 after the first eight minutes, getting five points from Frank Felix, who finished with 12 points. After Bumanglag turned a steal into a layup, the Raiders led 22-4, and then Bailey Bumanglag splashed a 3 for a 21-point lead.

Kalaheo shot 0-for-13 from the arc in the first half, but Robert Thompson began to attack the paint consistently in the second half. Thompson led Kalaheo with 15 points and 11 rebounds.