Boys Basketball
Mid-Pacific bounces back to down Moanalua, 52-50


  



Fri, Dec 8, 2017 @ Moanalua


Final 1 2 3 4  
Mid-Pacific (3-8, 9-14) 16 1381552
Moanalua (8-6, 18-14) 14 13 12 1150
C. Casinas 12 pts  3 3pm  1/2 FTs
C. Ramos 16 pts  4 3pm  0/0 FTs
D. McRaven 6 tot
H. Donlon 5 tot
C. Casinas 2 ast

SALT LAKE — Colin Ramos scored a game-high 16 points and Bobby Thompson and Hugh Donlon added 10 apiece to lead Mid-Pacific to a 52-50 win over host Moanalua on the second day of the OIA-ILH Challenge Friday afternoon.

The Owls improved to 4-2 in the preseason after dropping their last two games — both against Roosevelt — and handed Na Menehune (7-1) their first loss this year.

"It feels really good, but more importantly, hats off to our kids. We lost to Roosevelt two times in a row, which is tough. They're a really outstanding team, but our kids bounced back tonight and they proved that they have heart, they proved that they can play hard and I'm just really proud of them," Mid-Pacific coach Ryan Hirata said.

After Thursday's eight-point loss to the Division-II Rough Riders, Hirata issued a test to his players.

"We challenged them before the game," Hirata said. "We set some mini-goals throughout the quarters, and we really had to look deep into who we're going to be as a basketball team since we play in one of the toughest leagues in the state (ILH D1), so we had to dig deep and we challenged our older guys, younger guys, everybody to step up today and see what we're made of."

Ramos, a 5-foot-7 junior guard, was among those to answer the call. He drained a pair of 3-pointers right off the bat to help the Owls jump out to a quick 8-0 lead.

About midway through the second quarter, Ramos hit another trey off an assist from Bobby Thompson to end a 9-2 Moanalua run and give his team a 21-19 lead.

Geremy Robinson's putback of his own miss cut Mid-Pacific's lead to 29-27 at halftime.

The Owls' lead was six at 37-31 after Kamana Lapina made two of three free throws. However, Na Menehune answered with an 8-0 run to close out the third quarter. DiAeris McRaven's bucket off a feed from Pulu capped the run and put his team ahead, 39-37.

It didn't take Mid-Pacific long to reclaim the lead for good.

Ramos his a big 3-pointer from the right wing just 25 seconds into the fourth quarter that ignited a 9-0 run for the Owls.

"Colin played an outstanding game. I always tell him that he has the green light and that shot to put us up 40-39 was a huge one to start the fourth quarter," Hirata said. "Big-time players make big-time shots and Colin is one of them."

After a Moanalua turnover on the other end of the court, Cameron Hersh stretched the Mid-Pacific lead to 43-49 with a 3-pointer from the right corner, his only points of the game.

A few possessions later, Thompson scored on a putback and then made a couple of free throws to make it a nine-point Owls' lead.

Moanalua got within 48-45 after a pair of Pulu 3-pointers, the second coming with just two minutes and 37 seconds left in the game.

Mid-Pacific went up 52-45 with 1:05 remaining after a pair of baskets by Hugh Donlon. Pulu scored on a putback with 24 seconds left to cut the Owls' lead to 52-47, and Isaiah Sugiura's 3-pointer from long range as time expired closed out the scoring.

After committing 11 first-half fouls, Mid-Pacific was whistled for just three fouls in the second half. That translated to 10-of-18 shooting from the free-throw line for Moanalua before halftime and just 2 of 4 after.

"I think we just stayed in front a little bit more," Hirata said. "We followed the scout a little bit better in the second half and I think our kids were resilient. We had to switch up defenses from time to time and they were able to make the adjustments."

While Na Menehune won the rebounding battle, 29-26, the Owls held their own to overcome a distinct disadvantage in height.

"I think it's just being physical and believing. One of the the biggest things we talk about is positioning on offense and defense and I thought today our positioning was a lot better than it was in the last two games, so we were able to get some rebounds in our favor," Hirata said. "We were able to get some shots that we liked on the defensive end that gave us some opportunities to run a little bit, but just outstanding effort on our kids' part because that Moanalua team is going to be a state tournament team and they're a very good team, so we're happy about that."

McRaven, Pulu and Caleb Casinas scored 12 points apiece for Moanalua, which faces undefeated Kamehameha (6-0) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the third and final day of the Challenge.

Mid-Pacific takes on Leilehua (1-5) at 5 p.m. Saturday.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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