OIA Boys Basketball
Kalaheo upends No. 5 Kapolei in OIA semis


  



Mon, Feb 5, 2018 @ McKinley


Final 1 2 3 4  
Kalaheo (10-3, 20-13) 6 21151456
Kapolei (12-1, 19-7) 12 12 18 1153
J. Carter 13 pts  3/5 FTs
A. Kearney 21 pts  5/10 FTs

KAKAAKO — A heavy dose of Andrew Kearney and some late-game heroics from Kanoa Smith has got Kalaheo back in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I title game.

Kearney scored a game-high 21 points and Smith netted all seven of his points in the final two minutes to help the Mustangs pull off a 56-53 upset of previously-unbeaten Kapolei at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium Monday night.

The Mustangs notched their eighth consecutive win to improve to 9-3 and will face undefeated Kahuku at 7 p.m. Wednesday for the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I title.

The sixth-ranked Hurricanes fell to 11-1 and will host McKinley for third place.

Kearney, a 6-foot-4 senior, said his team embraced the role of the underdog in the matchup against the Western Division top-seeded ‘Canes.

"We felt like the underdog and I think that's a good place to be and we just knew we had to keep working, keep getting better. We haven't reached our peak yet and that's what we're working to do," Kearney said. "Everybody stepped up tonight, from freshmen (Luke Pardini) to sophomore (Kanoa Smith) and did big things and just executed tonight and thankfully we came out with the win."

Kearney had eight points by halftime and added 13 after the break, including eight in the third quarter.

After driving to the bucket and finishing a lay-in that gave Kalaheo a 45-44 lead with 4:52 to play, Kearney went down in a heap after rolling his right ankle. He was helped off the court by team athletic trainers, but re-entered after just 35 seconds of game time.

"I tweaked my (right) ankle I rolled it, but I got up and I was like, ‘If it's not broken, I gotta go back in,' " Kearney said. "I'm a senior and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I had to come back in. There was no way I was staying out."

Smith said Kearney's return gave the Mustangs an emotional boost.

"It felt great to have a leader like that back on the court," Smith said.

Kearney added another basket with 3:32 left to make it a 49-46 lead. However, Kapolei answered by scoring on its next three possessions.

Ja'Shon Carter's outback was followed by a steal and pull-up jumper by Zoar Nedd to put the ‘Canes ahead, 50-49. Carter then hit one of two at the free-throw line to give them a two-point advantage.

That's when Smith found his shooting touch. His layup with 1:52 remaining tied it at 51. After a Marquis Montgomery free throw put Kapolei back ahead by a point, Smith knocked down a spot-up 3-pointer from the left wing to give his team the lead for good with 40 seconds to play.

"Ryan (Pardini) got in and drove to the gap and he just kicked it to me and I was wide open and I was able to knock it down," Smith said.

Kapolei once again made it a one-point game following an Isaiah Higa free throw with 15.3 seconds left, but Smith made two free throws on the other end.

Smith was involved in a few turnovers in the first half and missed his first two attempts from the free-throw line before coming in clutch down the stretch.

"Kudos to him," Kearney said of Smith. "You can't worry about your past mistakes and he just kept going. He's got ice in his veins to knock down those two free throws at the end, I mean, that's huge; That won the game for us."

Kapolei had a chance to tie it on its final possession, but Higa's 3-pointer from the left corner came up short as time expired.

It was the lowest scoring output for the ‘Canes since a 49-46 win over Leilehua on Dec. 23.

"I'm very pleased with our defense," Kearney said. "I know we've still got a lot to work on, but they're a very tough team, a very talented team, they've got a lot of size. Props to them, they put up a big battle. We've still got a ton to work on throughout the OIA championship and states, so that's what we're going to do."

Kapolei led by as many as 10 with 5:24 left in the first half. However, Kalaheo closed out the second quarter with a 17-4 run that was ignited by a Harry Wallace three-point play, and included a couple of Luke Pardini 3-pointers, to take a 27-24 advantage into halftime.

"That gave us a lot of momentum. We came out in the first quarter kind of slow and came back, sat down, kind of re-gathered and told everybody to kind of calm down and focus and that's what we did and we were able to convert in the second quarter," Kearney said.

The teams were tied at 42 entering the fourth quarter.

Nedd and Carter scored 13 points apiece to lead Kapolei.

There were three ties and six lead changes in the game.

The Mustangs shot 8 of 15 from the free-throw line and overcame 20 turnovers — 10 in each half.

The Hurricanes were 17 of 27 from the stripe, but just 5 of 10 in the final quarter.

After losing three of its four games to open the regular season, Kalaheo will try for its league-record 20th OIA championship Wednesday and second in three seasons.

"The kids are playing with that energy right now that they're hungry, they understand that we've had some success this season, but for the most part it's been a challenging season, so for them to put this string together is impressive, so they're really working hard at it," Mustangs coach Rob Pardini said.

Kalaheo and Kahuku met in the season opener for both teams back on Dec. 23, which resulted in a 57-40 win for the Red Raiders.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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