McKinley's Kevin Nagasawa passes to a teammate against Kapolei. Nagasawa scored 7 points in the Tigers win over the Hurricanes. Steve Erler | Special to SL

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Thu, Dec 3, 2015 @ McKinley

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Kapolei

46

McKinley

49

Final	1	2	3	4
Kapolei (7-4, 12-8)	8	13	9	16	46
McKinley (8-3, 18-11)	16	9	5	19	49

H. Abdel Jawad 11 pts  1 3pm  2/7 FTs

J. Manapul 9 pts  2 3pm  3/4 FTs

MAKIKI – Jeremy Coloyan made 6 of 8 free throws – all in the closing two mintues – and McKinley hung on to beat Kapolei, 49-46, in the opening night of the Hawaii Self Storage Black and Gold Classic preseason boys' basketball tournament Thursday night the Student Council Gymnasium.

After Kapolei pulled to within 48-46 with 14 seconds left on Saiona Faumuina's putback, but McKinley's Kyle Moraga was fouled with nine seconds left, making one of his two double-bonus free throws to open the Tigers' lead to 3.

The Hurricanes brought the ball to down court and called time with 5.7 seconds left. Ian Manuel inbounded the ball to Alika Bantolina just outside the 3-point arc on the right wing, but his shot was short and rebounded by the Tigers as time ran out.

"He did a great job," McKinley coach Duane Omori said of Coloyan. "He came through for us at the end of the game."

It was a typical preseason performance from both teams still trying to work out the kinks. The Tigers opened with a 16-8 first-quarter lead, only to see the Hurricanes chip away in the second period to pull to within 25-21 at the half on a 3-pointer by Jayson Manapui with 20 seconds left second period.

Kapolei opened the second half with a 9-0 run with the help of McKinley turnovers to take a 28-25 lead. But McKinley pulled to within three on Isaac Lu's 3-pointer with 2:08 in the third. Later, a steal by Treyson Furuta was recycled into drive to the hoop by Gladwyn Balinbin with 13 seconds left to tie the game at 30.

The Hurricanes last lead was at 6:45 at 35-32, but they tied the game at 37 with 3:50 left. McKinley took the lead for good when Kevin Nakagawa scored on a dribble-drive and made the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play with 3:29 left to make it 40-37.

The Hurricanes would go 0-for-4 at the line in the next minute and watched the Tigers pull away by making their free throws.

"We didn't have everyone tonight," McKinley coach Duane Omori said. "I was happy with the kids the way we finished the game. Very inexperienced.  A lot of guys that finished the game didn't have a whole lot of playing time last year. It was nice to see them come as team. For the most part, we did a better job of shooting free throws. That was a big difference."

McKinley was a modest 13 of 24, but made 8 of 14 in the fourth period, while Kapolei shot a dismal 9 of 20. The Hurricanes were 1 of 6, including missing front ends of two one-and-ones, in the crucial final three minutes.

"That's what killed us tonight, free throw," Kapolei coach Gary Ellison said. "They made their free throws, we didn't make our free throws. It hurt us big time. If we hit our free throws, it's a different ball game."

The Hurricanes trailed 46-41 when Bantolina drained 3 with 26 seconds left to make it a one-possession game. McKinley opened its lead to 48-44 before Faumuina's putback with 14 seconds pulled the Hurricanes to within 2. Moraga made one of two free throws with nine seconds left before the Hurricanes' failed 3-point try.

The tournament continues Friday and concludes Saturday.