Boys Basketball
Mustangs pull away from Seariders, 65-27


  



Mon, Nov 20, 2017 @ Kalaheo


Final 1 2 3 4  
Waianae (2-8, 3-14) 5 106627
Kalaheo (10-3, 20-13) 14 14 21 1665
R. Pardini 13 pts  2 3pm  3/4 FTs
B. Kahikina 8 pts  0/0 FTs
A. Kearney 9 tot  3 off  6 def
A. Kearney 5 ast

KAILUA — Ryan Pardini scored 13 points and Andrew Kearney added 10 as host Kalaheo pulled away for a 65-27 win over Waianae on the second day of the Pete Smith Classic Monday night.

Pardini scored nine of his points after halftime, including a pair of 3-pointers that were part of a 21-point third quarter for the Mustangs (2-0). Kearney also scored eight points in the stanza.

Kalaheo never trailed at any point and saw eight different players score at least six points.

"It's an unselfish team, so I think that's going to be a huge advantage for us," said Mustangs coach Rob Pardini, whose team went 17-11 a year ago and finished fifth in both the Oahu Interscholastic Association and HHSAA Division I tournaments.

Among those lost to graduation from last year's squad for Pardini are guards Captain Whitlock and Noah Woodby. Replacing Whitlock, a First Team All-Hawaii selection last season, will take a team effort, Pardini said.

"Absolutely. We have some depth and we have seven seniors on the team and not all of them played a ton (last year)," Pardini said. "We've got one injured right now — Harry (Wallace) — so we're working on all that, but we'll be in good shape."

Kearney will be among those look to fill the void left behind by Whitlock and Woodby. The senior has taken over point guard duties after playing predominantly in the post the past two seasons.

"He sees the court so well that as soon as our season ended last year I told him that I want him to play the one," Pardini said of Kearney. "He's always got his head up and he's got a natural feel for ripping it off the defensive board and looking up and that's what I like about him. He's just got to get guys running the floor for him because he's out in front of people right now and that shouldn't happen, so we get guys out in front of him and we get trailers, I mean, the early offense for us will be very good."

The Mustangs jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead and held a 14-5 advantage after the first quarter.

A pair of buckets by Blaze Kahikina sandwiched around a steal and layup by Noa Edwards pulled the Seariders within 14-11, but Kalaheo closed out the first half on a 14-4 run to take 28-15 lead at halftime.

Out of the intermission, Kalaheo scored on its first six possessions of the third quarter to take a commanding 40-19 lead following Kanoa Smith's layup with 5:17 left in the period.

"I like how we came out in that third quarter and gave us a ton of energy right off the bat," said Pardini, who added that the quick start was in contrast to his team's performance in Saturday's 54-32 win over Nanakuli

"I said that our first four minutes (Monday) have to be better than our second half of our first game because we didn't come out with the fire and energy we did on the first night, but tonight we did in the second half and it really showed that we're physically there, we're in shape and now it's going to translate on the floor," Pardini said.

Kalaheo stretched its lead to 49-21 after three quarters and outscored the Seariders in the final quarter, 16-6.

Kahikina had eight points and Edwards seven to lead Waianae.

The Seariders, who went 8-10 and lost in the opening round of the OIA D1 tournament last year, are also looking to replace their leading scorer in Douglas Mitchell, a First Team All-OIA West selection as a senior in 2016-17.

"We're just young, so we just have to keep playing," Waianae coach John Simbahon said. "We have returnees, but they didn't play much last year, so we're still a young team, so I think the more we play, the better we'll get."

Simbahon also said it will be a collective effort to alleviate the loss of Mitchell.

"This year we're more of a team. Last year it was more of an individual thing because Doug was so athletic, but this year I think we actually play better as a team, but now we've just got to keep on playing," Simbahon said.

Waianae will face Saint Francis at 8 p.m. Tuesday in the final day of the tournament.

Kalaheo takes on Punahou II at 6:30 p.m.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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