Low turns it on to lead top-seeded Raiders, 53-48
• Boys Basketball Championship
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Iolani's Derrick Low dunks over Kamehameha's Waika Spencer for two of his 20 points in a state basketball semifinal game at Blaisdell Arena. Iolani won, 53-48.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
The No. 1 seed and defending champion Raiders (16-0) will play Interscholastic League of Honolulu rival Saint Louis (14-3) for the title tonight at 8 at Blaisdell Arena. The game will be televised live by OC-16.
Last night, only a Blaisdell crowd of 3,550 got to see Low put on another spectacular state tourney performance. Low, a 6-foot-1 junior point guard who scored 33 points in last year's final, had three steals, two assists and two rebounds in addition to his 20 points. But his final field goal, a high-flying dunk over 6-foot-4 forward Waika Spencer after a dribble penetration, is what brought the crowd to its feet and gave Iolani a 46-37 lead with 3:10 remaining.
The Warriors (14-5) staged a late rally to close it to 48-44 on Aaron Kahaloa's 3-pointer with just under a minute left, but Low, Ryan Hirata and Kyle Pape combined for seven free throws to seal it.
"I think (Low's slam) actually disrupted our whole team," Raiders coach Mark Mugiishi said. "We were trying to run our delay game, which usually is very organized, but now we just had five guys standing around. We forgot to play, and I had to call a timeout. I told the guys, 'We're not celebrating that dunk if we lose.' "
Kamehameha senior Willie Melemai said he wasn't surprised by Low's play, and it didn't faze his teammates, either.
"I've played with him in the summer, so I knew he could do stuff like that," Melemai said. "We cannot get down after a play like that, because as great as it was, it was only two points. We had to look at the bigger picture and keep focusing."
Eric Shaver sank two free throws with 2:16 left to cut the lead to 46-39, and he sank two more to make it 48-41 with 1:02 remaining before Kahaloa drained his 3-pointer after a steal. Shaver finished with a team-high 18 points, including 8 of 10 from the line.
Low scored nine points and had two steals in the first period to help Iolani finish the quarter with an 11-4 run for an 18-12 lead. Low had four more points in the second period as the Raiders took a 25-18 advantage into the locker room. Forward Bobby Nash added eight points in the half.
Iolani built its lead despite 10-for-27 shooting (37 percent), including 1 for 8 from beyond the arc. Low's 13 points came mostly off fast-break layups.
Kamehameha got as close as 27-24 early in the third period on Kahaloa's 3-pointer, but the Raiders responded with a 10-1 run for a 37-25 lead with 3:45 to go.
Layups by Caleb Spencer and Shaver cut it to 37-29 with 2:10 left, but Iolani pushed it to 39-29 on Nash's putback. The Warriors made it 39-32 heading into the final quarter on Shaver's 3-pointer.
A 3-pointer by Ryan Hirata and Low's layup stretched the lead to 44-32 early in the fourth quarter, but Shaver cut it to 44-35 with a 3-pointer.
That's when Iolani went into its delay game, which led to Low's dunk after he shook a defender and drove down the lane.
"Waika came over to help, but Derrick just went up and up and up ..." Nash said. "I think that's the best dunk I've seen in Hawai'i."
• • •
WHAT: Hawaiian Airlines Boys Basketball Championship
WHEN: Today
WHERE: Blaisdell Arena
TICKETS: $7 adults, $5 students (kindergarten through 12th grade). Blaisdell Arena adds a 50-cent surcharge for each ticket.
PARKING: $3
TV: Today's championship game, 8 p.m., OC-16
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY
- Leilehua 52, Waimea 45
- Kamehameha 64, Waiakea 52
- Baldwin 59, Mililani 43
- Saint Louis 47, Kaimuki 45
THURSDAY
Consolation
- Waiakea 86, Mililani 80, 2 OTs
Quarterfinals
- Saint Louis 73, Kea'au 36
- Maui 68, Leilehua 49
- Iolani 78, Baldwin 50
- Kamehameha 60, Kalaheo 55, OT
YESTERDAY
Consolation
- Waimea 54, Kaimuki 53
- Kalaheo 62, Baldwin 42
- Leilehua 44, Kea'au 41
Semifinals
- Saint Louis 59, Maui 49
- Iolani 53, Kamehameha 48
TODAY
Consolation
- Waiakea (10-5) vs. Waimea (9-1), 3 p.m.
Fifth place
- Kalaheo (12-4) vs. Leilehua (13-3), 4:30 p.m.
Third place
- Maui (15-1) vs. Kamehameha (14-5), 6 p.m.
Championship
- Saint Louis (14-3) vs. Iolani (16-0), 8 p.m.
Yesterday's boxes
Kaimuki 17 7 11 18—53
Waimea 13 16 8 17—54
Kaimuki—Jimmy Miyasaka 4-12 4-4 12, Nick Milan 3-6 0-1 8, Daniel Tautofi 8-20 6-8 25, Richy Miyasaka 1-4 0-0 2, Isaiah Ano 2-6 0-0 4, Davey Nyugen 0-1 0-0 0, Jon Torres 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19 10-13 53.
Waimea—Jordan Dizon 9-16 3-5 21, Lanikai Kanahele 0-0 3-4 3, Mark Andres 1-1 0-0 3, Joshua Vinzant 2-3 0-0 5, Desmond Rodrigues 5-12 1-2 11, Jeremy Manuel 1-4 0-0 3, Jay Parinas 0-1 0-0 0, Blaine Camden 0-0 0-0 0, Alan Manuel 1-1 0-0 2, Casey Kaohelaulii 2-6 0-0 6, Akeem Allen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-11 54.
3-point goals—Kaimuki 5 (Tautofi 3, Milan 2). Waimea 5 (Kaohelaulii 2, Vinzant 1, Andres 1, J. Manuel 1).
Kalaheo 20 13 13 16—62
Baldwin 5 8 14 15—42
Kalaheo—Aaron Luis 1-5 0-0 2, Christopher Tumaneng 0-1 2-2 2, Matthew Nakashima 1-3 1-2 4, Nicholas Heldreth 0-0 0-0 0, Theo Fujita 2-6 2-4 7, Nate Shields 0-1 2-2 2, William Elliot 0-2 0-0 0, Neil Bowers 1-6 2-2 5, Joshua Perry 2-2 2-2 6, David Moore 0-5 1-2 1, Jeremy Neufeldt 2-2 0-0 4, Ryan Belles 2-4 0-0 4, Sam Wilhoite 11-17 3-3 25. Totals 22 15-19 62.
Baldwin—Akamu Aki 2-8 2-3 7, Trenson Himalaya 1-3 2-4 4, Rodney Kekahuna 1-4 4-4 6, Matt Heyd 1-1 0-0 2, Nick Heyd 2-10 2-2 6, Cody Tesoro 1-2 0-1 2, Cody Nakamura 0-3 3-4 3, Donnie Dadiz 1-3 4-4 7, Jordan Kamikawa 0-1 2-2 2, Sherwin Mina 0-0 0-0 0, Roy Antolin 0-1 0-0 0, Scott Lafey 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 10 19-24 42.
3-point goals—Kalaheo 3 (Nakashima, Fujita, Bowers). Baldwin 3 (Aki, Dadiz, Lafey).
Kea'au 8 7 15 11—41
Leilehua 8 12 12 12—44
Kea'au—Josh Cabreros 2-7 2-5 6, Aukai Wong 5-14 0-0 11, Kai Calip 1-3 3-4 5, Rolan Benevides 3-13 0-0 8, Sunny Amisone 3-8 0-2 6, Jordan Dean 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Cadaoas 0-2 1-2 1, Ikaika Leslie 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Cabreros 1-2 0-0 2, Paul Rapoza 0-0 0-0 0, Ken Harris 0-1 2-2 2, Eric Ulep 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 15 8-17 41.
Leilehua—Andrew Talafai 2-6 2-2 6, Zacarias Rivera 4-7 3-5 11, Jonathan Scruggs 0-4 0-0 0, Demitrius Washington 2-9 0-0 5, Angel Fontanez 0-0 0-2 0, Tyrell Couch 0-0 0-0 0, Angelo Massey 3-7 1-2 8, Antonio Carter 3-7 2-3 8, Anthony Hall 3-3 0-1 6. Totals 17 8-15 44.
3-point goals—Kea'au 3 (Benevides 2, Wong 1). Leilehua 2 (Washington, Massey).
Saint Louis 12 11 16 20—59
Maui 10 10 12 17—49
Saint Louis—Desmond Hanohano 4-5 3-6 11, Timo Paepule 5-7 2-4 12, Keao Monteilh 1-4 1-2 4, Jonah Lakatani 3-8 2-2 10, Jason Rivers 2-10 4-6 8, B.J. Batts 1-2 0-0 2, Douglas Adachi 3-7 0-0 8, Ryan Brilhante 0-0 0-0 0, Tavita Thompson 0-1 0-2 0, Wilson Afoa 0-4 4-8 4. Totals 19 16-30 59.
Maui—Maafu Finau 6-17 4-8 18, Gene Rivera 1-3 3-8 5, Tevita Finau 2-4 1-2 5, Robinson Agdinoay 2-3 0-0 5, Efren Oasay 5-9 0-1 12, Van Komatsu 0-3 0-0 0, Kynan Metoyer 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 18 8-19 49.
3-point goals—Saint Louis 5 (Lakatani 2, Adachi 2, Monteilh 1). Maui 5 (Finau 2, Oasay 2, Agdinoay 1).
Kamehameha 12 6 14 16—48
Iolani 18 7 14 14—53
Kamehameha—Waika Spencer 3-6 1-3 7, Willie Melemai 2-2 0-0 4, Eric Shaver 4-8 8-10 18, Caleb Spencer 3-9 3-3 9, Aaron Kahaloa 3-6 1-2 10, Galen Santana 0-0 0-0 0, Radford Hepa 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 15 13-18 48.
Iolani—Bobby Nash 6-12 0-0 13, Todd Blankenship 2-2 0-0 4, Derrick Low 7-13 6-8 20, Ryan Hirata 1-7 6-8 9, Kyle Pape 2-5 3-4 7, Vincent Nip 0-0 0-0 0. Jon Yasuda 0-0 0-0 0, Zachary Follefson 0-3 0-0 0, Sean Carney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18 15-20 53.
3-point goals—Kamehameha 5 (Kahaloa 3, Shaver 2). Iolani 2 (Nash 1, Hirata 1).
