OIA Boys Basketball
Mules hold off Sabers to start league play


  



Fri, Dec 28, 2018 @ Campbell


Final 1 2 3 4  
Leilehua (8-3, 14-12) 14 2081153
Campbell (5-6, 13-15) 14 14 9 1249
M. Williams 27 pts  2 3pm  5/6 FTs
L. Lasell 19 pts  4 3pm  1/2 FTs

EWA BEACH - Leilehua survived an 18-point second-half scoring surge from Mitchell Williams to down host Campbell, 53-49, Friday night in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division boys' basketball season opener.

Williams finished with a game-high 27 points for the Sabers (0-1), who stormed out to a 10-0 lead before Logan Lasell drained three of his four 3-pointers in the last four minutes of the quarter to help pull the Mules to a 14-all game by the end of the first period. Lasell led the Mules (1-0) with 19 points.

"Logan, he bails us out of tough situations sometimes," Leilehua first-year coach Chad Townsend said."We have a lot of guys. Different nights, it's always a different guy who steps up for us."

Leilehua would take a 34-28 lead at the half and would increase it to as many as 12 in the third before the Sabers pulled to 42-37 entering the fourth. Williams then lifted the Sabers out of their deficit by opening the period with 12 consecutive points. Or so it was thought. His first eight points - two of them from 3-pointers - pulled Campbell to 46-45. The Sabers called time with 3:41 left and when play resumed, Williams' dribble drive put Campbell ahead, 47-46 with 3:19 left. A 3-pointer by Leilehua's Tremayne Vincent put Leilehua up 49-47 with 2:30 left before Williams tied the game at 49 with 1:16 left.

Leilehua took a 50-49 lead with 40 seconds left after Davon Newman made only the front-end of a one-and-one. With 26 seconds left, Lasell went to the free-throw line for a one-and-one. It was at this time a correction was made from the scorers' table that apparently nullified two points from Campbell, making it 50-46. Lasell also made only the front end of the one-and-one to make it 51-46.

"Even me, I thought we were only up by one, to tell you the truth," Townsend said about the one-and-one with 26 seconds left.

"That totally changed our approach and what we were doing," said acting Campbell coach Gary Ortiz. "These guys are kids…They're still angry at that, but I'm trying to get them focused on what we're doing, instead of focusing on why the score isn't what it's supposed to be."

Ortiz, the JV coach, served in place of Wyatt Tau, who was attending his brother's funeral.

It is unclear where the discrepancy of scoring occurred. The fourth period began with Leilehua ahead 42-37. ScoringLive's play-by-play notes show Williams scoring his team's first 12 points to tie the game at 49 with 1:16 left. The discrepancy was not notified to officials until 26 seconds left in the game after the Mules went to the free-throw line for the second time in that time span and Leilehua up 50-49. Williams is officially credited with 27 points, instead of 29. It was still an impressive outing for Williams.

"He's a senior, he's a leader, he's very athletic," Ortiz said of Williams. "He can get to the basket, he can hit 3s. He brings a different type of attitude. He's not scared. There's no fear in him. He' sent afraid of the big moment. The foul trouble kind of hurt him."

The teams resume OIA West play Wednesday. The Mules will host Aiea and Campbell will travel to Kapolei.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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