Maryknoll's Michael Miske drives to the basket against Mid-Pacific. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Sat, Feb 14, 2015 @ Maryknoll

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Mid-Pacific

46

Maryknoll

52

Final	1	2	3	4
Mid-Pacific (2-9, 9-17)	11	9	10	16	46
Maryknoll (6-6, 12-10)	11	11	15	15	52

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

J. Sueing 18 pts  12/15 FTs

D. Florenco 15 pts  3/5 FTs

B. Washington 14 tot  5 off  9 def

D. Kargol 5 tot  1 off  4 def

J. Sueing 2 ast

D. Florenco 2 ast

MAKIKI— Maryknoll pulled away from Mid-Pacific Institute late in the fourth quarter, 52-46 in the opening round of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu postseason single-elimination tournament at Clarence T. C. Ching Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

The Spartans (6-5) advance to play at No. 4 Iolani on Feb. 18 while the Owls end their season at 2-9.

"I'm happy we're moving on to the next round and you win one game, you're in the state tournament. All the games we played, it comes down to this," said Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant.

Justice Sueing, Jr. led Maryknoll with 18 points, he scored 13 in the second half and shot 12 of 15 (80 percent) from the free throw line. Brian Washington added 11 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked two shots.

"We wanted to make him a passer tonight, he got loose in the second half, but overall they did a good job on him, but credit his teammates. They hit shots when they needed to," said Mid-Pacific coach Ryan Hirata, on Sueing, Jr.

"I tried to be more aggressive, I know they were trying to double team me and tried to get my teammates involved and we pulled through," said Sueing, Jr.

"They ran that defense to take charges and closing the lanes. We like to attack the basket and they did a good job with that. Our guys got frustrated at times, but we hit clutch free throws. We needed other guys on the teams to hit points," said Grant.

Maryknoll made 6 of 9 free throws in the final 1:21 in the fourth quarter to help seal the deal. Calvin Koo was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit 2 of 3 free throws. Sueing, Jr. made two free throws with 1:07 remaining to put the Spartans up, 50-46. Washington had a key block and was fouled with 20.0 seconds remaining. He made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 51-46.

"I was in the right place and Calvin funneled him to me. We had to step up our defense and had a few key defensive stops," said Washington.

"He makes a difference, he's left-handed and he's long and has a quick jumper," said Grant, on Washington.

Ken Colombe had a clean look from the right corner, but it fell short as Sueing, Jr. grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 5.9 seconds remaining to pretty much clinch the game.

"These guys have come so far since our first preseason game until now," said Hirata. "I'm so proud of our guys, the way they fought and battled through every single situation to give us a chance down the stretch. I can't be anymore proud of these guys."

Daniel Florenco led the Owls with 15 points and Jacen Kimura came off the bench to add 11 points. He went 3 of 8 from the 3-point line to score 9 of his 11 in the second half.

Florenco scored the last five points of the quarter to tie the game at 11 heading into the second. He was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1.5 seconds remaining and sank all three foul shots.

Mid-Pacific trailed throughout the second quarter. Maryknoll led by as much as six, 22-16 after Washington's baseline drive. In the final 2:49 the Owls cut it the deficit to two, 22-20 after Jacen Kimura's pull-up.

The Spartans led 22-20 at halftime and shot 10 of 12 (83 percent) from the free throw line.

Maryknoll extended their lead to 27-20 after Calvin Koo's 3-pointer. The Owls slowly chipped away as Florenco hit a floater in the paint and Kimura came off a curl to swoosh a 3-pointer to make it, 30-25. Kimura hit another 3-pointer as the Owls trailed by two, 32-30. However, the Spartans closed out on a 5-0 run to end the third.

Sueing, Jr. picked up two quick fouls in 10 seconds early in the fourth, he picked up his fourth foul with 7:03 remaining. Washington threw down a two-handed dunk to make it 40-33, but Mid-Pacific went on an 7-1 run and trailed, 41-40 after Florenco's drive. The Owls tied the game at 42 and again at 46, but went scoreless in the final minute.

Although the season ends for the Owls, Hirata is optimistic about the future of the team.

"I told them in the beginning of the season, wins are not necessarily our goal. Building a program and planting a seed—that was going to be our goal," said Hirata. "For the six seniors going out they planted that seed for our younger players. Our young guys—Jacen, Zion and Logan (Hutchinson) they came up from the JV and contributed right away. To blend the younger guys, I'm excited for what we have coming back."