Mililani rallies to defeat Baldwin, 67-56

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Mililani forward Nick Rogers, left, rips a rebound away from a trio of Baldwin players during the second quarter. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Mililani had to rally past the senior-less Bears, 67-56, in first-round action at Blaisdell Arena. Alex Patykula scored a game-high 26 points and fellow senior Aaron Kanno added 14 points for the Trojans, who will play Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion and No. 4 seed Kealakehe (15-0) in today's first quarterfinal at 2:15 p.m.

To get to this point, O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up Mililani (13-1) had to overcome a sluggish first half and a 37-30 third-period deficit against Maui Interscholastic League runner-up Baldwin (10-3). Down by seven, the Trojans called a timeout then went on an 11-0 run and never trailed again. Kanno's jumper as time expired in the third quarter put Mililani up 45-40.

"We finally buckled down from then on," Kanno said. "We were tired of being behind."

The Bears closed to 45-43 on Trenson Himalaya's three-point play to start the fourth period, but Kanno hit a jumper and 3-pointer to key a 7-2 run and the Trojans never led by less than seven points the rest of the way.

"Kanno killed us," Baldwin coach Wayne Gushiken said. "We expected that from Patykula, but Kanno really destroyed us."

Patykula scored 13 points in the first half as Mililani built a 24-17 lead, but the Bears got some easy baskets and took a 26-24 lead into the locker room after Matt Heyd's three-point play. Baldwin out-rebounded the Trojans 14-7 in the first two periods.

"They were scaring me; Baldwin is not the type of team you want to toy with," Mililani coach Mike Coito said. "It was a chore getting our guys to play with consistency."

As usual, the Trojans relied heavily on jump shots, and this time it paid off. They shot 26 of 51 (51 percent), including 7 of 11 (63.6 percent) from 3-point range.

"They can shoot it," Gushiken said. "They shoot really well, and we can't win a ball game if we turn the ball over so much (25 times). But I guess that's what you expect from a young team. Hopefully, this experience will pay off next year."

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