Kalaheo's Josh Ko puts up a jumper over Moanalua's Kahanu Pu'ulei-Auld. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kalaheo's Kalei Zuttermeister puts up a shot over Moanalua's Ola Brown. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Moanalua's Kahanu Pu'ulei-Auld looks for room to put up a shot between two Kalaheo defenders. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Kalaheo players celebrate a mid-court after winning the OIA Red division championship over Moanalua. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Sat, Feb 16, 2013 @ McKinley

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Moanalua

52

Kalaheo

56

F/OT	1	2	3	4	OT
Moanalua (12-2, 20-10)	6	8	9	18	11	52
Kalaheo (14-0, 28-4)	6	4	21	10	15	56

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

K. Zuttermeister 21 pts  5 3pm  2/3 FTs

K. Pu'ulei-Auld 20 pts  1 3pm  3/6 FTs

K. Zuttermeister 5 tot

J. Hudcovic 6 tot

D. Morgan 2 ast

E. Donley 2 ast

Heading into the biggest four minute stretch of the season thus far for his ball club, Mustangs head coach Alika Smith rolled with Vegas, but luck had nothing to do with it.

With senior starters Derick Morgan and Josh Ko both out after picking up five fouls in the contest, reserve forward Kurt Vegas was pressed into extended minutes and came up huge for Kalaheo, scoring a key basket plus the free throw on a hail mary fast break, then knocking down 3-of-4 attempts from the stripe down the stretch in a 56-54 overtime victory over Moanalua in the OIA Red division championship game in front of a boisterous crowd at McKinley's Student Council gymnasium.

"Kurt came up big." said Smith. "And it was great to see him (do that)."

The nearly length-of-the-floor pass from freshman Kupa'a Harrison to Vegas was a play that the Mustangs practiced for such an occasion.

"Its a read play, so if the man (defensively) is playing in front we do the same action on the same side and then we send our guy long. So the guy (bit) on the jab step and perfect pass by Kupa'a and layup and one." said Smith of the play.

For all the fireworks that took place in the second stanza, neither team could get much going offensively in the first sixteen minutes of play, as Na Menehune shot just 5-of-15 from the field and the Mustangs just 4-of-16.

Moanalua led 14-10 at the half.

Coming out of the intermission, Kaiei Zuttermeister took over. Having already knocked down a pair of triples in the first quarter, the senior wing went absolutely ballistic in the third, knocking down all three triple attempts as well as a coast-to-coast layup off of a steal to give him 11 points in the quarter and 19 heading into the fourth.

"The game was won and lost in the third quarter," said Moanalua head coach Greg Tacon. "Zuttermeister is what he is, which is a terrific shooter, and he got so much rhythm and we fell behind. But to our credit, we chip away, chip away, chip away (in the fourth)."

Down 38-31 heading into the fourth, Na Menehune found a way back into the game slowly but surely, as guard Kahanu Pu'ulei-Auld led the charge with 6 points in the quarter, including a clutch jumper on the left baseline with just over 10 ticks on the clock to send the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Pu'ulei-Auld gave Moanalua the early edge, drawing first blood with a jumper just beyond the free throw line to make the score 43-41.

What followed was a trio of plays by the senior guard Ko that helped Kalaheo seize control of the game.

Following a nifty layup to tie the score back up, it was Ko on the very next Mustang possession finding the bottom of the cup on a huge three point shot from the right wing to put the Stangs up 46-43.

Then, with Moanalua getting back quickly in transition, it was a heads-up Ko fouling a Na Menehune player heading to the basket to prevent what looked to be an easy layup.

"He (Ko) just came down and hit a big three and he fell down and grabbed the guy to save two points and if I'm mistaken he missed both free throws." remarked Smith. "So that's the kind of team player he is."

The foul would be Ko's fifth, disqualifying him from further action. He finished with 13 points, all of the coming after the break.

Pu'ulei-Auld kept Moanalua close, nailing a three-pointer on one trip then another bucket on an ensuing possession, giving him a team-high 20 on the night, but the Stangs would convert 8-of-11 free throws in the overtime to seal the win.

Zuttermeister led all scorers with 21 points, including five from long distance.

"He was the one that kept us in the game," said Smith. "Moanalua's a great team, they were playing great basketball. He hit a bunch of shots, and down the stretch he had to come and hit two big free throws to seal the victory. It's a testament to how hard he works and what he brings to this team."

The victory for Kalaheo marked the 18th title overall for the boys basketball program, and the first Red division crown for the Mustangs.