HHSAA Boys Basketball
Roosevelt reaches first-ever state championship game


  



Thu, Feb 20, 2020 @ Kaimuki


Final 1 2 3 4  
Roosevelt (6-5, 13-8) 13 761541
Hawaii Prep (12-1, 15-4) 9 10 7 1137
K. Walker 13 pts  2 3pm  3/5 FTs
D. Watanabe 13 pts  2 3pm  1/3 FTs
U. Kealoha 8 tot  1 off  7 def
K. Kaaihue 12 tot  4 off  8 def
T. Walker 2 ast
L. Quinlan 2 ast

The training wheels are off and the finish line is in sight.

Roosevelt will be making its first-ever appearance in a state championship game after beating top-seeded Hawaii Prep, 41-37, at Kaimuki's gymnasium Thursday night in the semifinals of the Snapple Division II Boys Basketball Championships.

The Rough Riders, the fourth-seeded team in the eight-team tournament, will play unseeded Kohala in a 5 p.m. championship game at Stan Sheriff Center Friday. The Cowboys defeated McKinley, 45-27, in the second semifinal.

"These kids have worked hard," said Roosevelt coach Steve Hathaway. "HPA is tough, my goodness, that game could have gone either way. I'm just glad it came out our way."


Sophomore Drake Watanabe recorded a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead Roosevelt in what turned out to be a back-and-forth affair.

The Rough Riders jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter, then went down 26-20 in the third quarter. They also took and lost the lead in the final period of play before junior Logan Quinlan gave Roosevelt the lead for good off a pass from freshman Kayman Lewis with under two minutes remaining in the game.

"For us to keep our composure was big I think," said Hathaway, who has two sophomores and one freshman in the starting lineup. "We've grown up a lot this tournament, which is what I was looking for. I've been waiting for these guys...I told them we got to take the the training wheels off. We can't keep saying we're young anymore, and I think they finally grew up."

When Roosevelt trailed by six in the second half, Hathaway implored his players to keep being aggressive, especially with Ka Makani posts Michael Hughes and Umikoa Kealoha dealing with foul trouble.

While HPA worked to generate multiple 3-point shot attempts, the Rough Riders got three points the old fashion way with an and-1.

Watanabe's three-point play tied the game at 26 after the third quarter and Lewis' had another one of his own to tie the game at 36 with 2:11 remaining in regulation.

"I think we started to attack and that was huge," said Hathaway. "Sometimes we rely on the jump shot way too much, but tonight we did a great job of attacking."

HPA had a chance to tie the game after Quinlan's go-ahead basket, but Kelsen-Jaye Walker split a pair of free throw attempts with 1:15 on the clock to leave Roosevelt with a 38-37 lead. Walker also missed the front end of a 1-and-1 scenario with 42.5 ticks remaining which allowed Roosevelt to extend its lead on freshman Kamu Kaaihue's basket with under 20 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Javan Perez's 3-point shot came up short and Walker missed on the putback opportunity as Roosevelt held on for the victory.

Walker led Ka Makani in the loss with 13 points and seven boards.



Reach Michael Lasquero 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

No. 1 seeds Aiea, Kailua to face off for OIA Division I baseball crown

Na Alii posted a 3-1 win over Roosevelt behind Aidan Yoshida's complete game, while two pitchers combined...

Sabers, Na Menehune to meet in OIA semifinal round Monday

Campbell defeated Roosevelt in four sets Thursday, while Moanalua topped Waipahu in the nightcap as both...

Late surge propels Kapolei to mercy-rule win over Kalani

The Hurricanes found their offensive groove in the late stages, scoring 14 runs down the stretch to back...

Kapaa takes down Kauai for second straight league win

Bob Manintin pitched six strong innings as the Warriors snapped the Red Raiders' seven-game winning streak.

Waianae holds off Castle; Mililani next

Teizsha Kaopuiki hit two home runs to power the Seariders in the opening round of the OIA Division I...

Surfriders erase early deficit, pull away from Falcons

Ninth-ranked Kailua scored 10 unanswered runs behind six scoreless innings of relief from DJ Kauahi to...