Greg Yamamoto | SL

×

12061504_KailMid__0335.jpg - Greg Yamamoto | SL

Purchase this image
4x5 5x7 8x10 image download

KAILUA - Zach Marrotte and Jonah Kalai combined for 24 points to lead Kailua over Mid-Pacific Institute, 53-38, Saturday night to take the Surfriders Classic championship at the Harry Murai Gymnasium.

Marrotte, a 6-foot-4 starting guard, and Kalai, a 6-2 forward off the bench, each scored 12 points to help the Surfriders improve to 5-0 in the preseason. Major Davis led all scorers with 17 points for the Owls (2-1).

"Jonah's been giving us some good minutes," Kailua coach Wally Marciel said. "He actually had a good tournament. He brings something to the table. We were missing Noah Auld; he was playing in that senior bowl game. Jonah's been a good spark plug."

Even without the 6-3 Auld, who took Most Valuable Player honors in the Life Champion Senior Bowl football showcase on the Big Island, the Surfriders still owned a considerable height advantage over the Owls. Mid-Pacific's 11-player roster was missing three players for disciplinary reasons, MPI coach Ryan Hirata said. The three players – all starters and at least 5-11 – would have been nice to have against the physical Surfriders, who list eight players at least 6-feet tall.

Still, the Owls held their own against the Surfriders. There were times MPI won the offensive boards, but failed to make its secondary shots. Adding to the Owls' issues was their cold shooting in the final period. A number of 3-point tries didn't reach the rim.

Leading 35-27 entering the fourth period, the Surfriders opened with a 7-0 lead. The Owls did not score until 3:45 left when Davis made one of two technical foul free throws. About 30 seconds later, Davis converted both free throws from a second technical foul, this one against the Kailua bench. The Owls did not make a field goal until 2:19 left on Davis' second 3-pointer. It was that kind of period for MPI.

"A little bit of it was legs, but a lot of it was mental," Hirata said of his team's sluggish shooting in the fourth quarter. "Mentally, we kind of (messed) ourselves, but I'm proud of the way our guys played. They played a great three-day tournament. Kailua's a big team; they're going to be great in the OIA, but we just gotta get better."

The Owls did beat a taller Saint Francis team in the tournament semifinals, 57-51.

"We have to have the same mindset every single game," Hirata said. "The problem that we have is consistency. We have to be more consistent on both ends."

Marciel said MPI's guard play challenged his players for the better.

"We're starting to balance ourselves with our post game and our guards play," Marciel said. "Mid-Pac has a lot of guards and were undersized tonight, but just the pressure that they put on you (will) help put more confidence in our guard play this year. We've been most a low-post team, but now we're trying to open it up more with our guards shooting to free up a little bit more under the post."

The Surfriders never trailed in the game. The Owls tied the game at 7, 10 and 12 before Kailua closed the first half with a 6-2 run to take an 18-14 lead. The Owls stayed to within four points on two occasions in the third period before Marrotte's 3-pointer midway through the quarter helped the Surfriders pull away.