Kaua'i shows it can hoop it up

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

What the final score of Kaua'i High School's 77-34 loss to Male (Louisville, Ky.) does not indicate is that the Red Raiders have a good chance to contend for the Hawai'i state championship in February.

Iolani's Kyle Pape goes up for two of his 18 points against McKinley at the Iolani Prep Classic. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Red Raiders never led against Male, which entered the tournament ranked No. 5 in the basketball-rich Bluegrass State. But Kaua'i played as well as could be expected, trailing 35-21 with under two minutes remaining in the half before the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to lead 41-21 at the break.

It was a far cry from last year, when Fairfax (Los Angeles) led Garden Island rival Waimea 54-10 at halftime. In fact, no Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation team has advanced to the state quarterfinals in the past 19 years, but the Red Raiders showed more than just flashes last night that things could change in February.

"I think we have a chance," said 6-foot-8 center Va'afuti Tavana, who registered four blocks. "We didn't play well at all tonight, but we'll pick it up."

In addition to Tavana, Kaua'i has senior point guard Jeremy Manuel, a transfer from Waimea who was the KIF's Player of the Year last season. Wing Josh Bradbury, a 6-foot senior, is a dangerous shooter who scored a team-high 13 points last night.

Swingman Kekoa Crowell, an All-KIF quarterback, leads a group of athletic role players who complement the scorers well.

"We have the components," Kaua'i coach Brandon Fujita said. "And what separates this team is they're willing to work to improve. Tonight, we just rushed everything and forgot everything we practiced. We've got a lot of work to do — we had a football season that went long and a volleyball season that went long, so we've only been together for about three weeks.

"But our kids never quit tonight, and we played a really good Kentucky team. They moved really well without the ball and executed everything."

Tavana played on the Hawai'i Raiders select team that participated in a Las Vegas tournament last summer and Manuel played in last year's Classic with Waimea. But most of the other Red Raiders had never faced Mainland competition comparable to Male.

"We wanted to play in this tournament because we wanted to set the bar high," Fujita said. "This team (Male) is as good as we're gonna see all year, so it was a good experience for us."

Iolani 71, McKinley 46

Kyle Pape scored 18 points as Iolani defeated McKinley in an opening-round game.

Pape, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, hit three 3-pointers.

Vinny Nip added 14 points and Kawika Shoji 10 for the Raiders, who will play Rice (N.Y.) in a quarterfinal game tomorrow.

Barry Kang and Wally Marciel contributed eight points apiece for Iolani, which surged to a 20-7 lead after the first quarter.

Kapena Quisano led the Tigers with 18 points.

Xaverian (New York) 51, St. Anthony 28

Zamal Nixon scored 17 points to lead Xaverian (New York) over St. Anthony of Maui in an opening-round game.

Xaverian led 20-2 after the first quarter.

John Powley led St. Anthony with 17 points.

Fairfax (Los Angeles) 85, Roosevelt 38

Jerren Shipp and Jamal Boykin each scored 21 points to lead nationally ranked Fairfax to an opening-round victory.

Ja Shon Hampton added 12 points for Fairfax, which is from Los Angeles.

Fairfax, which is ranked No. 11 in USA Today's Super 25 poll, won the Iolani Prep Classic in 2001 and 2002.

Laakea Moikeha led Roosevelt with 10 points.

Academy of Pacific 75, Myron B. Thompson 59

Kaimana Komine scored 47 points as the Academy of the Pacific captured the Division II title.

Puna Kaopuiki added 18 points for AOP, while Jerrome Figueroa led Thompson with 27 points.

Lana'i 63, ASSETS 28

Lucky Bolo scored 17 points as Lana'i took third in Division II play.

Note: The annual dunk contest will be held after tomorrow night's 8 p.m. game between Iolani and Rice (New York).

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.