ILH Boys Basketball
Iolani stuns Punahou, 29-27, for Senior Night victory


  



Tue, Feb 5, 2013 @ Iolani


Final 1 2 3 4  
Punahou (8-4, 22-8) 8 104527
Iolani (6-6, 13-9) 0 6 12 1129
R. Foy 9 pts  1 3pm
N. Velasquez 9 pts  1 3pm

'Iolani upset Punahou on their Senior Night to avenge a 21-point loss at Punahou earlier this season. 'Iolani snapped their three-game losing streak and improves to 4-5 in the ILH while the loss drops Punahou to 7-2 in the ILH.

Reece Foy scored 9 points to lead the Raiders. As a senior, he led his team in many ways and provided the vocal leadership.

"All our guys really played solid, but Reece Foy was the spark for us (in the second half) on both ends of the floor. He's a senior, he's been with us for four years. He not only brought spirit, but brought points, defensive pressure and a little bit of everything," said 'Iolani head coach Dean Shimamoto.

"Punahou has a lot of great talent one through five, they are definitely one of the most talented teams in the state. Coming into this game, our goal wasn't to win or lose, our goal was to stick and play together. I got the guys together earlier and said, 'It wasn't about making our layups or shots, it's a matter of sticking together and believing.'" said Foy.  

The Buffanblu held 'Iolani scoreless and led after the first quarter, 8-0.

At halftime, Punahou led 18-6.

"In the first half, the opportunities we had to make free throws and layups, finish off the quarter strong, we didn't do. Being down twelve points at the half, we felt it should have been much closer only because we had great opportunities. We missed a ton of shots, but had great opportunities and that was our focus at halftime," said Shimamoto.

In the second half, the Raiders turned it around as they outscored the Buffanblu, 23-9.

Shimamoto said, "We made more shots in the second half and we tried to come out and get the easy things."

'Iolani's defensive pressure caused numerous Punahou turnovers and the Raiders chipped away at the deficit in the third quarter.

'Iolani took the lead, 29-27 late in the game. Punahou had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but a mishandled pass led to a desperate three-point shot by Kanawai Noa that hit the backboard.

"I'm absolutely proud of our boys. It's a great memory and experience for them and it's something they will remember for a long time," said Shimamoto.

Nick Velasquez led the Buffanblu with 9 points

Punahou travels to Kamehameha on Friday 2/8 at 6 pm. 'Iolani travels to Mid-Pacific 4:30 pm on Saturday 2/9 to close out the regular season.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


IMAGE GALLERY



MORE STORIES

Lacar's versatility paying off for Bulldogs; Wildcats ride Lebrun-Ward to clinch state berth

The senior libero-turned-setter played a pivotal role to lead Waialua to its first OIA D2 title, while...

Kamehameha sweeps Campbell in tourney opener; Hilo next

In the final game of the opening round, Warriors got 15 kills and seven aces from Kainoa Wade in straight...

Kamehameha wallops Maryknoll to claim second straight league crown

Warriors racked up 12 hits and drew 10 walks in a mercy-rule shortened victory over the Spartans.

Roosevelt takes down to Maui in four sets to reach D1 quarters

Jonathan Yadao registered a match-high 19 kills for the Rough Riders, who reached the quarterfinal round...

Osbun leads Warriors to second straight ILH baseball championship

The junior right-hander allowed one hit over five innings and helped his own cause with an RBI-single...

No. 2 Maryknoll denies No. 4 Punahou to punch ticket to states

The Spartans avenged a nine inning loss to the Buffanblu two days ago and return to the state tournament...