Rocklin's Kanyon Rice (1) and Kainoa Marasco (12) surround Kaimuki's Cole Joslin during action in the second half of play. Brien Ing | SL

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Sat, Dec 9, 2023 @ Kaimuki

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Rocklin

81

Kaimuki

49

Final	1	2	3	4
Rocklin	21	27	26	7	81
Kaimuki (8-4, 15-14)	15	13	19	2	49

M. Pham 13 pts  3 3pm

M. Lavrenov 20 pts  1 3pm

Rocklin High School made the most of its first-ever trip to Hawaii, making its mark with an undefeated run through the Kaimuki Invitational field capped by a 81-49 win over the host Bulldogs in the title game.

The trip to Hawaii might have been the inaugual one for the Thunder as a school, but it was an welcome homecoming for two of its players, Kainoa Marasco and Kanyon Rice.

"It was our motivation to come here," Taylor said. "To give them a chance to play in front of people who have never seen them play. Also, from a team bonding standpoint there's no better place than Hawaii for us to be. Things are pretty hectic this time of year with our season so this was a great trip for us."

Mark Lavrenov led the way with 20 points, Marasco added 16 and Rice 11 more for the visiting team from California, as five players hit double digits in the game.

Kaimuki kept pace in the first quarter, but a 27-13 second period advantage, fueled largely by a suffocating full court press and solid defense in the halfcourt, helped pull Rocklin firmly ahead.

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"We say that defense turns into offense." said Rocklin head coach Steve Taylor. "I think we were a little bit tired, we went over to the North Shore and spent the day just to see some of the beautiful scenery there and I think the kids finally got going (in the second quarter) and that led to some easy shots."

Both Canyon and Marsco relished the opportunity to return to the islands.

"It was amazing, coming back here after four or five years, seeing my family and everyone coming out to support me as I never left, it was a blessing," said Canyon.

"I had so much fun," agreed Marasco. "Seeing my family from back home. It brought back so much happiness, seeing some of them driving like an hour just to see me play, it means a lot to me."

Rocklin held Kaimuki guard Jeremiah White to just 10 points, his lowest output since Nov. 25, where he scored just seven points against Marknoll.