Spartans rise to the challenge

Maryknoll's Isiah Gelacio dribbles the ball around a Kamehameha defender Friday night. Pete Caldwell | SL

It's not often that you win a game when you let your opponent shoot over 50 percent from the floor, but the Maryknoll Spartans found a way to get it done Friday night.

Maryknoll, who was coming off a 42-40 win over Mid-Pacific two days prior, overcame a hot shooting streak by the Kamehameha Warriors to improve to 2-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I standings.

The Warriors started the game going 3-for-10 from the field, but made 16 of their next 24 shots to finish with a 55.8 percent clip (19 of 34). Junior guard Kamren Victorino-Kato was at the forefront of Kamehameha's strong spree, sinking eight straight shots, including four 3-pointers, to finish with 20 points.

"He's got range from 24 to 25 feet away from the basket so we have to get a hand in his face," Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said of Victorino-Kato. "Once he feels confident that he can hit the shot, we have to make sure he doesn't touch the ball."

In spite of the the Warriors' ability to knock down shots, the Spartans found a way to get it done. Maryknoll kept Kamehameha out of the paint for the most part and forced the Warriors to take jumpers down the stretch.

"I thought we were getting stuff around the basket, they were just rotating more and we weren't getting cleaner looks so you have to give them credit for that," said Kamehameha coach Greg Tacon.

To counteract Victorino-Kato's scoring, junior Jaylen Cain had his best game of his career with 20 points and 11 boards.

"Jaylen stepped up big time," said Grant. "He struggled in our last game, I think he went 1-for-9 or 1-for-8, but today we called his name, we called his number and he executed."

Cain scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, scoring on tough layups in the final minutes to keep the Warriors at bay.

"I'm really happy for him because he worked hard, he worked hard on his body to get stronger because he knows he's going to get a pounding going to the basket," Grant said on Cain.

Grant added that the team as a whole has taken a new approach this season.

"We talked about that from the beginning of the year," he said. "We played real lackluster last year. It was real slow, but now we have had a lot of upbeat practices. Every practice is an upbeat practice, a lot of in your face (action). We do a lot of full court one-on-one. One, it gets us into shape and two, it builds mental toughness."

The Maryknoll coach also credits the Spartans' preseason trip to California to participate in the Tustin High School tournament in preparing his team for the rigors of the ILH season.

"When we went to the mainland we played against some of these teams and it was really physical so it really prepared us for the ILH. Our ILH season is crazy. It's tough, the referees, they're doing all they can do, it's really physical."

The Spartans resume league play when they travel to Punahou on Wednesday.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].