Baldwin's long day ends in triumph over Mililani

By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Baldwin boys basketball team left Maui at 10 yesterday morning, had a quick shoot-around, a pregame meal and went to the team hotel to relax for its game with Mililani.

Mililani's Alex Patykula breaks away from Baldwin defenders Akamu Aki and Rodney Kekahuna during the first quarter. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

It arrived at the Blaisdell Arena ready to play.

The Bears, the Maui Interscholastic League's No. 2 team, put on a clinic in execution and patience as they beat the Trojans, 59-43, in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines State Championship Tournament.

"We've had a long day today," Baldwin coach Wayne Gushiken said.

Mililani, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's No. 4 team, had a long day as well because Baldwin (11-4) ran its "motion-passing game offense" effectively against the Trojans' man-to-man defense. The system is similar to the flex-motion offense the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team runs.

Rodney Kekahuna scored 14 points for Baldwin, Akamu Aki added 12 and Nick Heyd had 11. The Bears had a lot of open layups and only attempted two 3-pointers, making one. Baldwin shot 18-of-36 from the field, 22-for-33 from the free-throw line, and had 13 assists. In contrast, Mililani was 19-of-50 in field goals and just 1-of-4 in free throws with six assists.

"They execute, they're very disciplined on offense and they're very patient and they end up with good shots," Mililani coach Mike Coito said.

Mililani (9-6) had closed to 38-35 with 4:52 left in the game, but then it stalled. The Bears took their largest lead at 53-37 on a free throw by Heyd with 1:04 remaining.

"We didn't have a very good effort on defense and our rebounding was non-existent," Coito said. "When we finally got in close, we didn't have any ammo left."

The Bears made all six of their shots in the fourth quarter and hit 14-of-19 free-throw attempts. Meanwhile, the Trojans made 6-of-16 field-goal attempts and didn't shoot a free throw in the fourth.

The Bears used a 1-2-2 zone for the entire second half, after mixing in a man-to-man defense in the first half.

"They're much quicker than us, they have better athletes than us so we decided to cut down on their penetration, stay in the zone and get more help," Gushiken said.

Mililani played without leading scorer Simeon Tavares, who was dismissed from the team by principal Robert Ginlack for a disciplinary reason.

Mililani’s Clarence Gray, left, battled Baldwin’s Nick Heyd and Matt Heyd for a rebound in last night’s state tournament game. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"We played a lot of times without him," Coito said. "I would have thought by now other guys could step it up and cover up for him, but we never really did that."

Despite having a roster with six sophomores and two freshmen, Baldwin played with more poise down the stretch.

"It's pretty sad because we have a lot older team than they did," Coito said. "They did a great job I think."

When asked if he'd prefer to arrive a day or two early for the tournament, Gushiken said: "That would be ideal, but it wouldn't be cost-effective."

Baldwin went on a 10-0 run in a 3:40 span bridging the first and second quarters to go up 15-8 early in the second quarter. Cody Nakamura and Kekahuna scored five points each during the spurt.

The Bears, who led 24-22 at halftime, were just 8-of-14 from the free-throw line in the first half.

The Bears will play Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Iolani at 5:45 p.m. today.

"I don't think we match up at all," Gushiken said. "We played them once in the preseason so we know what they're like and they're not No. 1 for nothing."

Mililani will play in a consolation bracket game today at 12:30 p.m. against Waiakea.