Kaiser's Kasey Lewis II puts up a jumper against Kailua. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kaiser's Makena Kaneaiakala attempts to put a shot over Kailua's Matt Bishop. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kailua's Matt Bishop takes the ball to the basket against Kaiser. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kaiser's Chance Kalaugher slams home the basketball against Kailua. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Thu, Jan 2, 2014 @ Kailua

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Kaiser

46

Kailua

38

Final	1	2	3	4
Kaiser (5-6, 16-12)	15	7	8	16	46
Kailua (7-5, 11-15)	12	8	8	10	38

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

M. Bishop 12 pts  6/7 FTs

K. Lewis II 19 pts  3 3pm  4/6 FTs

C. Kalaugher 10 tot

N. Auld 1 ast

N. Tom 1 ast

KAILUA – A strong start and finish was the difference maker for the Kaiser Cougars on opening night.

Kaiser outscored Kailua by a combined nine points in the opening and final quarter to help the Cougars fend off the host Surfriders Thursday night, 46-38.  The Cougars start the Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division schedule with a win, handing the Surfriders their eight straight loss.

“Give Kailua credit, they’re scrappy, they played hard for 32 minutes. We knew it was going to take a complete game to pull out a victory, just very proud of our boys,” Kaiser coach Branden Kawazoe said after the game. “We’ve been making strides and getting better every day and that was our goal from day one. I told them before the game, ‘every game from here on out is for keeps,’ we got to come out and play our best to get it done.”

Leading the way for the visiting Cougars was point guard Kelsey Lewis II with 19 points. Lewis connected on three 3-pointers and also added two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“He’s been our floor general for the entire year, a great addition to this team,” Kawazoe said on Lewis. “He’s controlled whatever is going on offense and defense, and he’s becoming one of our leaders. He’s great at distributing the ball, but as we’ve seen tonight, he’s and outstanding scorer as well. He’s very dynamic and he’s improving every single day.” 

Providing quality minutes in the post for Kaiser was reserve forward Chance Kalaugher. The 6-foot-5 sophomore finished with a game-high 10 rebounds, and also dazzled those in attendance with an alley-oop dunk.

“When Chance plays hard, Chance is a tough guy to deal with for any team,” Kawazoe said on Kalaugher. “We’re pleased with his progress as well. If he continues to work and do the things that we ask, he’s going to be really good one day. His activity around the basket, his body (with) the way he boxes out and grabs rebounds, it’s huge for us.”

Kailua’s Christian Kamu Scheer was the first to score in the game, but it was Lewis who would take over the opening period. The 5-foot-7 junior knocked down a triple at the 5:18 mark of the first quarter to give the Cougars a lead they would hold on to for majority of the game.  He later took a stolen ball coast-to-coast to push Kaiser’s lead to six. His prettiest shot of the quarter came after he crossed over Kailua’s Nainoa Mercado to get free for the mid-range jumper.

“I played good, I just had a good shooting night,” Lewis said on his performance. “When I was in shootaround I had a good feeling about the shooting because we were all making our shots.” 

Kaiser led by six heading into the final minute of the first quarter, but the Surfriders were successfully able to milk down the clock for a Scheer buzzer-beating 3-point shot off of the cross court pass from Noah Auld. 

Scheer’s triple at the end of the first quarter provided momentum for the home team, allowing them to take the lead within the first two minutes of the second quarter. They would have maintain the lead if it wasn’t for Lewis’ triple with less than eight seconds remaining in the first half. Kaiser led 22-20 at the break. The two-point differential remained after the third quarter was over, setting up a dramatic fourth quarter.

Kawehe Hano Kohatsu had a chance to tie the game at the line early in the fourth quarter, but he would only split the pair making it a one-point game. Kaiser pulled away with some key stops, but Auld made some tough buckets to keep the Surfriders in the game. Kaiser called timeout with a 37-31 lead and 4:37 remaining in regulation.

Following the timeout, Nicholas Tom found Lewis near the top of the arc for a wide-open three, putting Kaiser up by nine. Lewis’ 3-pointer essentially put the game out of reach for a Surfrider offense who only mustered three points so far in the quarter.

“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Lewis said on his ability to hit big shots. “They helped me out, they gave me some good looks. I would (also) like to thank the coaches. They gave me the play call and they let me do what I had to do out there.” 

Auld continued to make shots to give the home crowd a glimmer of hope for a stunning comeback, but the Cougars held strong. Kailua converted their last field goal attempt with 1:37 to go in the fourth quarter, unable to generate quality shots in the clutch. The Cougars’ defense helped them close out the game and they were able to come away with a win on the road.

“It took a lot of resilience,” Kawazoe said on holding off the Surfriders’ rally. “We got down there by one at one point after holding the lead, and we were able to bounce back, get buckets and key stops. (We) just (played) very resilient and scrappy. That’s the kind of thing we’ve been preaching, to stay solid possession by possession. Don’t get too high or too low, just keep grinding away try to do the things we’ve been working on.” 

Matt Bishop was the leading scorer for the Surfriders, posting 12 points and four rebounds off the bench. 

Kaiser returns home to host Kahuku Saturday Jan. 4, in their regular season home opener. Kailua hosts Kalani next Wednesday Jan. 8. Tip-off for both games is slated for 7:00 p.m.