OIA Boys Basketball
Kalaheo sinks Moanalua with shot at the buzzer, 31-29


Wes Nakama
January 26, 2012, 9:19am

  


Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ Moanalua

Kalaheo

31

Moanalua

29

Final 1 2 3 4  
Kalaheo (10-1, 29-6) 13 75631
Moanalua (11-5, 19-11) 2 7 13 729
C. Hammond 11 pts  3 3pm
J. Ko 11 pts  2 3pm
Josh Ko swished a 12-foot jumper as time expired tonight to lift Kalaheo to a thrilling 31-29 victory over Moanalua in O'ahu Interscholastic Association boys basketball action.

A "Senior Night" crowd of about 350 at Moanalua watched the Mustangs improve to 9-1 in the OIA Eastern Division heading into Friday's 6:45 p.m. White Conference showdown against McKinley (8-2). Na Menehune, which had been chasing Red East leader Kahuku (10-0), fell to 7-3.

"Josh has been a good scorer for us all year, so we wanted him to have the ball (on the last possession), whether he draws the foul or takes the shot," Kalaheo coach Alika Smith said. "We set a vertical pick for him, and he stuck the shot."

The Mustangs jumped out to a stunning 16-3 lead in the game's first 10 minutes but Moanalua closed it to 25-22 after three periods and tied it at 29-29 on Chris Hammond's 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.

Na Menehune called timeout with 9.4 seconds left, and Smith called for the winning play that started with Ko receiving the inbounds pass.

"Coach just put in that play yesterday, and we ran it at our last practice," said Ko, a junior guard. "Nainoa (Frank) set the vertical pick, and Coach showed lots of faith in me to go one-on-one. Thank God the shot went in."

It was a heart-breaking finish for Na Menehune, who recovered from a painfully sluggish start. They managed only one field goal in the first 10 minutes as Kalaheo led 18-5 after Frank's free throw with 3:14 left in the half.

Kreig Kepa's three-point play closed it to 18-9 less than a minute later, but Frank answered with a layup to put the Mustangs ahead, 20-9, at the half.

"We were just terrible shooting the ball in the first half," Moanalua coach Greg Tacon said. "We played pretty good defense, holding a team to 20 points, but you gotta reward yourself at the other end."

Hammond finished the third quarter with a runner and a 3-pointer to close it to 25-22 entering the fourth, then hit the tying shot from beyond the arc on the left side after Ko's free throw made it 29-26 with 27 seconds remaining.

Ko led Kalaheo with 11 points and Hammond was Moanalua's high scorer, also with 11 points.



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