Moanalua withstands Mililani rally, reaches OIA Red semis

Moanalua's Eliet Donley puts up a shot in the paint against Mililani. Peter Caldwell | SL

Moanalua (18-7) survived a Mililani (12-12) fourth quarter challenge for a home court OIA playoff victory, securing a state title berth with a 52-44 win.

With a late second quarter flurry featuring an Eliet Donley dunk, Na Menehune took a commanding 30-17 halftime lead. Controlling the boards, the Trojans put together a strong third quarter to narrow the gap to 40-36.

Mililani got within 2 points at 45-43 In the fourth quarter but a key Kahanu Puʻulei-Auld three pointer gave Na Menehune some breathing room as the clock was winding down. The Trojans aggressive defense and strong rebounding had brought Mililani close as Moanalua had to settle for perimeter shots that did not fall. Moanalua center Eliet Donley: "They were good under the boards, Theyʻre big." In the final minutes, Moanalua escaped the Mililani pressure and converted free throws to make the final margin.

Mililani Coach Ed Gonzales credited his team: "We made a good comeback. At one point we cut it to two. Take nothing from Moanalua. Theyʻre one of our better public school teams. Theyʻre on a roll."

Moanalua coach Greg Tacon: "Weʻre extremely proud of our effort to qualify for the State tournament. Itʻs very important for us and our program. Thatʻs always the first goal at the start of the year. I want to give them a lot of credit for what they did in the second half knocking down shots, tough under the boards and contesting our shots. They play like that again next week, theyʻll make the State tournament. Iʻm happy for Eddie and his kids. We got challenged, we survived it, and it wasnʻt pretty but weʻre in the State tournament and weʻre extremely happy."

For Moanalua, Eliet Donley led the team with 17 points followed by Kahanu Puʻulei-Auld with 12. Mililaniʻs scoring leaders were Noel Bueno and Sylvester Panoncilio each with 12 points.

Moanalua advances for a semifinal match-up with Kapolei on the 13th while Mililani takes on Kahuku in the consolation side of the bracket.