Moanalua maims No. 5 Mustangs for upset


ScoringLive staff
February 14, 2018, 11:51pm

Na Menehune jubilant as time expires on the clock following Kalaheo's final shot attempt. CJ Caraang | SL

KAKAAKO — The Mustangs' magic fell tenths of a second short as the clock struck zero.

A week after pulling of an upset of its own in the same gym at McKinley to win the Oahu Interscholastic Association championship, second-seeded Kalaheo (20-12) fell victim to Moanalua (18-12) in a 52-50 upset that came down to the final buzzer Wednesday night in quarterfinals play of the Snapple/HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championships.

After Kalaheo cut down a 12-point deficit to just two points with 18 seconds remaining in the game, Luke Pardini forced a turnover off Moanalua junior Blayze Simon's inbound pass and flicked the ball up and in to tie the game at 50 with 16 ticks left. Na Menehune quickly drove down the court where Geremy Robinson, Jr. who dropped it off to an open DiAeris McRaven waiting under the basket to finish with a one-handed slam to regain the lead.

Following a final Mustangs timeout, Andrew Kearney drove coast-to-coast for a layup that sat on the rim before falling off the other side as the buzzer sounded.

Cannen Chiu — who played hero a week ago on a game-winning 3-pointer — got a finger on the ball and seemingly tipped it up and in for the putback, but after a short discussion between the refs, it was concluded (and later confirmed) the clock expired before Chiu touched the ball.

Robinson and McRaven led Moanalua with 20 and 17 points, respectively, and combined for 31 of their 39 points through the first three quarters to enter the final period with an 11-point lead. McRaven also fell one board shy of a double-double.

Moanalua first gained the lead, 4-2, at the 4:47 mark in the opening quarter on a Robinson three-point play and never trailed the rest of the way.

Kalaheo's Pardini came off the bench and scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter, which included two splahses from beyond the arc and the game-tying layup.

Chiu followed with 11 points, and Kearney and Kanoa Smith both had nine apiece.

The two teams previously met on Jan. 3 with Moanalua coming out on top, 81-68, to give Kalaheo what would be one of only three losses in the regular season. Na Menehune finished 5-5 in the regular season and finished fifth in the OIA Playoffs.

Moanalua advances to Thursday's night 7 p.m. semifinal matchup against Punahou (28-4) at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Kalaheo drops to the consolation bracket to play Lahainaluna (19-7) at 3 p.m. also at the Stan Sheriff.