Big first quarter powers visiting Kapolei over Aiea

Michael Lasquero | SL

This one was decided in the first eight minutes.

Kapolei outscored host Aiea by 13 points in the opening quarter and never looked back for a 67-45 win in OIA West play Wednesday night.

David Edwards poured in a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds to go with four assists and three blocks to help power the Hurricanes (4-1) to their fourth straight win.

Na Alii (3-1), who suffered their first loss in league play, was held without a made field goal until there was 36 ticks remaining in the opening period.

Ball movement was at an all-time high for Kapolei with 22 assists on 27 made baskets. The Hurricanes also assisted on their first six made field goals in the first quarter.

"Patience, and they hustled a little bit more than what we usually do," Kapolei coach Gary Ellison said on what was key in the opening stanza.

"They came out and played well in the beginning and they controlled the turnovers, that was the main thing. Turnovers has been a huge issue for us, so they controlled that in the first quarter."

Edwards also did most of his damage in the opening period, scoring 10 of his team-high 14 points in the frame.

"He's a workhorse down there for us," Ellison said of Edwards. "He keeps working, stays under composure, he plays well. He's our team leader of our team and on the court."

Brennan Wastell was the next highest scorer for the Hurricanes with 11 points and five assists with three steals. Anthony Dunn followed with nine points and a made 3-pointer and Caleb Paakaula was solid off the bench with eight points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals.

All 17 players on the Hurricanes' roster checked into the game with 12 of them recording at least two points.

"They are starting to come around, they're starting to understand how to play with each other and play together and everything. That's huge," Ellison said.

Stefan Ognjanovic led Aiea in the loss with 15 points and three made triples off the bench. He scored 10 points in the second quarter and helped Na Alii cut it to a seven-point deficit, 23-16, with 1:26 left in the second half.

Aiea was able to cut the deficit to six points at two junctures in the third quarter, but a 12-0 run capped by a Kai Briggs triple pushed the Hurricanes lead to 42-24 just before the end of the period.