Moanalua's Kahanu Pu'ulei-Auld lays in two of his team-high 14 points against Roosevelt. Peter Caldwell | SL

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012513_1301_Roosevelt_062.JPG - Peter Caldwell | SL

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The Moanalua Na Menehune got off to a good start and cruised to an easy victory over the visiting Roosevelt Rough Riders.

Moanalua's Kahanu Pu'ulei-Auld led all scorers with 14 points and hit two 3-pointers. He also recorded 11 steals.

"It all starts with the guy guarding the ball, if he makes him drive, I'm there to help and I got the easy steals," said Pu'ulei-Auld.

Moanalua head coach Greg Tacon said, "He has great hands and he has great anticipation. Sometimes he reaches a little bit too much, but sometimes against certain players he's able to get steals and he had a great game."

Moanalua jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and it set the tone for the game.

Coach Tacon, "Obviously we got off to a good start because we did a great job perimeter wise defensively. We got some easy run-offs. Justin (Hudcovic) got those quick early baskets, who is great around the rim. We established ourselves on the perimeter defensively than on the inside offensively."

In the second quarter, Moanalua outscored Roosevelt 25-11. They went on a 13-2 run and forced Roosevelt to call a timeout at 2:53.

"It's important anytime you start a game, but you know what we didn't run out to a huge lead so they're a three-point shooting team so we kind of left the door open. We kept chipping and chipping and built a comfortable lead" said Tacon.

The Na Menehune led at halftime, 39-15.

In the second half, Moanalua led by as much as 35 points and Coach Tacon was able to empty his bench and play the reserves.

This victory was important because it keeps Moanalua (6-1) in pace with Kalaheo (7-0) and Farrington (5-1) in the OIA Red East.

"It's so important to be number one or number two the way our league is set up. Because if your are number one or number two, the bye in the first round and then you have a home game and you have to win one game to make the state tournament. This team, the focus is about making state and advancing as far as we can. This keeps pace with teams ahead of us and now we have a really big game on Saturday against Farrington that doesn't clinch the number two, but gives you a tie-breaker and puts you on the inside track."

Moanalua heads to Farrington at 6:30 PM this Saturday, which will be streamed live on ScoringLive.

"I love Farrington, I love their personnel and they get after it. They have big kids that can score and catch; they stretch you because they challenge your transition defense. We cannot get into a running match with them, we need to get into a game we like and can manage," said Tacon.