Kamehameha tops Iolani, 54-40, earns state berth


Kamehameha's Dyrbe Enos drives to the basket against 'Iolani. Aaliyah Birgado-Ormita | Leilehua HS
Kamehameha outscored 'Iolani 21-2 in the fourth period to earn a 54-40 come-from-behind win and the third ILH berth to next week's Division I state tourney.

'Iolani got off to a fast start, taking an early 6-1 advantage on the shoulders of bigs Gabriel Vega and Duke Pauli, who finished with 10 and 12 points respectively.

That post presence opened up opportunities on the perimeter, and the Raiders made good use of the extra space, hitting 6 threes through three quarters of play, three of them from wing Austin O'Leary.

The final period opened with the reigning Division I champion Warriors down by a 38-33 margin, and as Raider guard Reece Foy stepped into the passing lane and picked off a Makoa Camanse-Stevens pass, it appeared 'Iolani was poised to add to that lead.

But Camanse-Stevens was determined to not let that happen.

"I was the one that passed a bad pass, and for my teammates, who practice hard everyday, I gotta go out there...I gotta get that back" he said.

And his block of Foy's layup attempt seemed to ignite the Kamehameha rally, as the Warriors' Dyrbe Enos converted at the other end to cut the lead to three, followed by a Camanse-Stevens bucket that trimmed the Raider lead to just one.

Noah Borden's hoop with 6:05 left gave the Warriors their first lead of the game, and Taylor Taliulu hit a huge three-point basket from the left-corner to stretch the margin to 42-38.

Following an 'Iolani timeout, forward Duke Pauli banked home a shot at the 4:00 mark to trim the lead to 42-40, but it would the last points the Raiders would put on the board.

Enos, much like he did with a 10-point outburst in the second period, would take control down the stretch, scoring 9 of the final 12 points for the Warriors, including 6-of-6 from the free-throw line to put the game on ice.

"Since we're like seniors, I figured this could be the last game of my high school career, I gotta go, we gotta go. We just pushed through and everything started to go." remarked the 5-foot-10 guard.

The Warriors join the Academy of the Pacific and league champion Punahou as the representatives from the ILH in next week's state tournament.

When asked about the prospects of back-to-back titles, head coach Julian Nakanishi replied, "We like our chances. We like our chance to keep that trophy on the hill."


Reach Brien Ing at [email protected].