Kamehameha guard Kamren Victorino-Kato brings the ball up the court in the fourth quarter against Saint Francis. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Saint Francis guard Kameron Ng shoots a 3-point shot as Kamehameha's Kobe Young closes in. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Fri, Dec 1, 2017 @ Kailua

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Saint Francis

66

Kamehameha

71

Final	1	2	3	4
Saint Francis (10-0, 29-3)	17	19	23	7	66
Kamehameha (7-5, 20-8)	18	20	23	10	71

K. Victorino-Kato 22 pts  12/16 FTs

K. Ng 33 pts  7 3pm  2/2 FTs

KAILUA – After an electric three quarters of play, normalcy was restored in the fourth period as Kamehameha held off Saint Francis, 71-66, Friday night in the semifinals of the Surfriders Holiday Classic boys' basketball tournament at the Harry Murai Gym at Kailua.

The Warriors will play Iolani for the tournament championship in an all-Interscholastic League of Honolulu finale at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The game featured a combined 23 3-pointers, 12 by the Division I Warriors and 11 by the Division II Saints. Kameron Ng owned seven of the treys by the Saints en route to scoring a game-high 33 points. Teammate Bryce Nishida had the other four 3-pointers to account for all of his 12 points. Ng's younger brother, Kordell, added 16 points, including scoring on an alley-oop on an assist by Kameron.

Laamea Frank drained seven 3-pointers for Kamehameha for all of his 21 points.

But it was the hot hand of Kamren Victorino-Kato that helped the Warriors fend off the Saints. He scored 12 of his team-high 22 points in the second half.

"The pace was ridiculous," Kamehameha coach Greg Tacon said. "The way Kam (Ng) was hitting shots and No. 20 (Nishida), Laamea was doing it for us Kam (Victorino-Kato) and Kobe (Young) were around the basket. Two good teams trying to figure out how to win games. I mean, do we want to play like that and take 30 3s? No we don't want to do that.

"They sat in a zone and you have to hit shots, but Kameron Ng tonight was spectacular. We had no answer for him."

Kamehameha led 61-59 entering the fourth. The Warriors scored eight of their 10 fourth-quarter points from the free-throw line, but they kept the finish interesting by missing nine free throws. The wear and tear of three relentless quarters caught up with the Saints, who managed just seven points and could not capitalize on the missed free throws by Kamehameha. The fatigue could be seen when some of Kameron Ng's 3-point tries fell short.

Saint Francis guard Kameron Ng shoots a 3-point shot as Kamehameha's Kobe Young closes in. Michael Lasquero | SL    Purchase image

"We ran out of gas at the end," Saint Francis coach Ron Durant said. "I'm missing four guys; they're playing in the (football) all-star game on Kauai. We didn't have the size on the inside, but I was proud of our guys. They battled and didn't give up. It's the last three minutes of the game we ran out of gas. We didn't score. We missed a couple of layups. (The Warriors) even missed free throws and we couldn't take advantage."

Leads changed 13 times in the first three quarters. The Warriors opened the fourth with five unanswered, but the Saints pulled to within 66-64 with 2:15 left on a field goal by Kameron Ng. But Victorino-Kato converted both ends of two bonus free-throw situations to keep the Saints at bay.

"Our guys hung in there," Tacon said. "(Laamea) just got hot, knocked down all those jumpers and next thing you know, third and fourth quarters, it becomes more of an ILH game; it became a possession game. I think our experience in that really helped us get through."

Victorino-Kato was the Warriors most effective scorer in the second half.
"At some point, you have to get inside the zone," Tacon said. "One of your guards has to be aggressive enough to get inside the paint and Kamren is all about being aggressive off the dribble."

It was an incredible, but not surprising night for Kameron Ng, ScoringLive's reigning All-Hawaii Division II Player of the Year.

"He rises when he plays against these (tough) teams," Durant said. "Last year, we played some Mainland teams, it brings out the best in him."
Kameron's success is not a mystery to Kamehameha.

"The guys works hard," said Kamehameha's Kobe Young, who scored 12 with one 3-pointer. "I worked out with him this summer and he just works hard all the time. I'm not surprised he hit that many shots because he deserves it."

Added Durant: "Kameron and Kordell are two of the hardest working basketball players I've seen. They're in the weight room, they're working hard."