Boys Basketball
Villejo's 27 points helps McKinley sink Campbell, 71-47


 

Tue, Dec 16, 2014 @ Kalaheo


Final 1 2 3 4  
Campbell (11-2, 19-8) 7 1913847
McKinley (5-6, 13-12) 29 13 12 1771
D. Villejo 27 pts  5 3pm  4/6 FTs
M. Merchant 14 pts  2 3pm  2/2 FTs

KAILUA - Dan Villejo scored 16 of his game-high 27 points in the first quarter and McKinley rolled over Campbell, 71-47, Tuesday night in the opening round of the Pete Smith Classic boys' basketball tournament at Kalaheo.

The Tigers (5-0) will play Konawaena, 6:30 p.m. Thursday in a quarterfinal at Kalaheo. The Sabers (2-2) will play Canada's Fleetwood Park in a losers' bracket game set for 9:30 a.m. at Farrington. That is subject to a time change, Kalaheo athletic director Mark Brilhante said.

Villejo had four of his five 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Tigers explode out of the gates in taking a commanding 29-7 lead. The Sabers closed to 54-44 with a modest 5-0 run to open the fourth quarter with the aid of Jomar Jett Gapusan's 3-pointer. But in turning up the aggression to get the ball back, the Sabers were forced to foul and McKinley converted 12 of 14 free throws to pull away.

"A 10, 12-point lead is not enough against a team like Campbell," McKinley coach Duane Omori said. "They can strike back real fast."

But Villejo's quick start was too much for the Sabers to overcome.

"Dan's been with us since his freshman year," Omori said. "Each year, we wanted him to be more aggressive. I think he's slowly coming around. He's taking the lead for our team. We want him to be aggressive and take shots. Even if he misses, he does so much things for us on the court. He attracts so much attention."

He was aggressive all right. Villejo opened the game with a 3-pointer and added three more in an 11-0 run that widened the Tigers lead to 23-5.

"Me and my teammates had a good warmup," Villejo said of his team's fast start. "We moved the ball around a lot. They got me the ball; we shared the ball. I just popped it in, had a good rhythm."

Villejo also had five defensive rebounds to lead his team.

"That was the killer over there, No. 2," said Campbell coach Wyatt Tau, referring to Villejo's jersey number. "Not only him. When he didn't make them, some other guys took some shots. Hats off to them. They did a hell of job shooting the ball. We just have to play better D, which I believe we're going to do."

Macjun Otarra added 14 points, 10 in the first half, and Hufhifah Abdel-Jawad had 12 points for the Tigers.

Michael Merchant, who fouled out, led Campbell with 14 points. Lamart Dudley followed with 11 points, nine coming in the first half.

This tournament will be Campbell's final tuneup before it leaves for Las Vegas for another tournament during the winter break.

Tourney notes: In Kalaheo's 87-21 win against Anuenue, Na Koa suited just six players. Two fouled out in the fourth quarter. Anuenue played with four players in the final 3:40. Kalaheo suited eight of its 12 players. Among those not suited because of injuries were Kupaa Harrison and Kaleb Gilmore.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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