Juwon Bohannon's double-double performance help lift Kalani to a win over rival Kaiser in both teams' season openers. Tyler Kanoa | Special to SL

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Sat, Jan 3, 2015 @ Kalani

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Kaiser

77

Kalani

78

F/2OT	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT
Kaiser (9-4, 24-8)	8	16	14	22	7	10	77
Kalani (5-9, 11-17)	13	15	10	22	7	11	78

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

A. Tungpalan 16 pts  3 3pm  3/4 FTs

I. Akiona 15 pts  4 3pm  3/4 FTs

J. Bohannon 11 tot  3 off  8 def

C. Kalaugher 12 tot  3 off  9 def

J. Robinson 3 ast

K. Lewis II 3 ast

The Kalani Falcons (1-0) rallied past their East rivals the Kaiser Cougars (0-1) with a double-overtime victory Saturday night in front of a ruckus crowd at Kalani Gymnasium.

In a rematch of last year's Oahu Interscholastic Association Divison II (formerly White) championship game, the Falcons had to hit two game tying shots at the end of regulation and the first overtime to push the game into the final overtime.

Senior Juwon Bohannon hit the final shot with two seconds to play that gave the Falcons the victory.

"We did a flat screen to Alex he was supposed to take it, but the two guys went on him and it left me open so he dished it to me and I finished," said Bohannon who finished with a double-double performance of 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Kalani started off hot and with a balanced attack, they jumped out to a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Cougars fought back in the second with an 11-0 run led by junior guards Keoua Mahiko and Nicolas Tom. Tom got a putback bucket and two layups on the run that was capped off with a Mahiko three-pointer that tied the game at 24 with 55 seconds left before the half. The 6-foot-2 Mahiko finished with 14 points and was 4-for-6 for threes while quick guard Tom's stat line was good for 10 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.

The Falcons' 5-foot-8 senior Corey Mitchell scored four points before the half including a jumper from the free throw line with four seconds left to make it 28-24 at intermission. Mitchell finished with 9 points and was 3-for-4 from the free throw line.

The third stanza went back and forth as there were two ties and the lead changed hands twice between the Cougars and Falcons. When the dust had settled the two teams were dead locked at 38.

The final quarter saw an offensive implosion as the two teams combined for 44 points in the quarter.

Kaiser controlled much of the quarter and built a lead as large as seven twice in the stanza, only to see Kalani chip away down the stretch. Some momentum may have swung the Falcons' way when Mahiko fouled out and 6-foot-5 junior Chance Kalaugher also found himself disqualified after picking up his fifth on an offensive foul with 2:16 to play. The Falcons trailed 54-49 at that point.

Kalaugher who averages 15 points per game, finished with just nine.

In the final minute, Kaiser held a three-point lead with 15 seconds to play, but Kalani drew up a play for one of their top three-point shooters in junior Alexander Tungpalan, who drained a three-point shot from the left wing with 4 seconds to play.

Kaiser's final attempt bounced off the rim and sent the game to overtime.

In the first overtime both teams kept the score close. They were tied again at 67 when junior Jon Suda hit 1-for-2 from the line. The 5-foot-10 Suda finished with nine points and 3-for-4 from the line. Kaiser held for the final shot of the first OT, but Tom's shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim for Kaiser and forced the game into a second overtime.

The Cougars sprinted out of the gates in the second overtime with three straight three-pointers from junior Isaiah Akiona to make it 76-71 with 2:07 to play. Akiona was a key factor in keeping Kaiser in it down the stretch, with 15 points off the bench, shooting at an 80% clip from beyond the arc.

Kaiser held a 77-72 lead with 1:40 to play, but the Falcons were not to be denied. Tungpalan scored on a drive up the middle and added two free throws to make it 77-76. Then, with 39 seconds to play a five second closely guarded call forced a turnover that gave the ball back to Kalani.

The Falcons set up for one final play after grabbing the offensive rebound off of a set play and with just seconds left on the clock, Tungpalan found a cutting Bohannon who layed the basket in with his right hand and sent Falcon nation into a frenzy.

Kaiser's final attempt came up short, and the falcons celebrated their first win of 2015 by avenging their loss in the OIA White title game last year.

"We have a lot of veterans on this team and coach said to stay poised. We knew what to do in this situation," said Bohannon. "This is huge we played hard teams in the preseason to make sure we got ready for the D2 teams. We're glad that is pushing our momentum through the season."

Kalani will travel to Castle to keep the streak going while Kaiser will host Kaimuki and try to bounce back. Both games will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m.