Kalani rallies to top Kalaheo in double OT


Kalani's Isaiah Lee puts up a 3-point shot from the corner against Kalaheo. Greg Yamamoto | SL

KAHALA — Isaiah Lee's go-ahead basket helped Kalani beat Kalaheo, 61-58 in double overtime at the Falcons' gymnasium Friday night.

The Falcons (5-2) snapped a two-game skid as it sits in third place in the Oahu Interscholastic Association East Division I standings. Kalani rebounded from a 54-50 overtime loss to the Red Raiders with a two-overtime win of their own.

"It feels amazing," Lee said. "The best ones are the comebacks. This was a big win. We had a close loss to Kahuku in OT and we were bummed about it and we wanted to get back."

"It was important for our demeanor. We lost two in a row and they seemed to be down. We teach them to fight to the end and yourself a chance," Kalani coach Everett Frye said of the win.

The Mustangs lost their second game in a row to fall to 3-4 in the OIA standings and is currently tied for fifth place along with Roosevelt.

Lee, who dropped a game-high 21 points, took the ball from the right wing and drove it into the paint and hoisted the shot. His floater hit every part of the rim as it fell with 8.8 seconds remaining to give Kalani a 59-58 lead in double overtime.

"I missed everything in the first half and I'm bound to make something. It went in the end," Lee said.

"We were trying to get them to swing and get open and drive. If the big comes, maybe drop it or take the floater," Frye said of the go-ahead basket.

Ryan Owens, who led Kalaheo with 15 points, was called for a double-dribble with 3.5 seconds giving the ball back to Kalani. Steve Dole was fouled and split a pair of free throws and Owens grabbed the ball and called a timeout. The Mustangs were out of timeouts at that point and Lee split the technical free throws with 0.7 seconds and Kalani inbounded the ball to end the game.

Lee scored nine of the Falcons' 18 third quarter points as he knocked down his first 3-pointer and another to close out the quarter.

"He's our best shooter," Frye said. "We tell him shooters are going to shoot and you can't make shots you don't take. We don't worry about the outcome. Just worry about taking the right shots."

Kalaheo led by as much as 15 and led by at least 10 throughout the third quarter. Kanoa Smith putback his own miss and Owens hit a floater in the lane for a 45-32 lead. Lee hit a 3-pointer from the left wing as Kalani trailed by 10, 45-35 heading into the fourth.

Brandon Chung (17 points) and Lee helped spark the rally and the Falcons combined to go 4 for 6 from the free throw line during their 10-0 run. Dole missed his second free throw, but Lee came up with the steal and putback tie it up at 45 and Rylan Suzuki split two free throws to give the Falcons their first lead since the opening minutes in the first quarter.

"We talked about not trapping the first trap and wait until they got further down the court. There's no 10-point shot and by four minutes we want to break it (the deficit) by five. The kids did well executing and did well in the second half," Frye said.

There were three lead changes until Smith knocked down two foul shots for a 51-49 lead, but Chung tied it up at 51. Luke Pardini missed the one-and-one free throw, and both teams turned it over on their final offensive possessions. Suzuki had a look from the right wing 3-point line, but it hit back iron to send the game into overtime.

Kalani and Kalaheo ended the first overtime period scoreless as Ryan Pardini could not get his layups to drop and Kalani turned it over on their two offensive possessions to send the game into double overtime.

"We wanted to slow it down and maybe get a lead and get into a foul game and try hit free throws to make them (Kalaheo) come out of the zone," Frye said of the first overtime.

Chung gave Kalani a 53-51 lead to open the second overtime and Lee followed up with a layup in transition off of a steal.

"That sparked us and gave us a cushion where we could afford a 3 or something. We couldn't finish out that game at Kahuku in overtime. We are working on finishing out games," Frye said.

Ryan Pardini finished with 14 points and scored all seven of the Mustangs' overtime points with two drives and a 3-pointer.

Kalaheo hosts Roosevelt on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. while Kalani goes to McKinley on the same night and same time.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].