Kamehameha overcomes gritty effort by McKinley, 56-38

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

McKinley's Iakopo Taumua, right, takes a rebound away from Kamehameha's Waika Spencer. Spencer had a game-high 11 rebounds. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Warriors ran past the Tigers, 56-38, in first-round action of the HHSAA/Hawaiian Airlines Boys State Basketball Championship Tournament before about 1,200 last night at Blaisdell Arena.

Kamehameha (11-6) will play No. 2 seed Kalaheo (13-1) at 5:45 p.m. in today's quarterfinals.

McKinley (9-7) tried mightily to again overcome a huge size disadvantage, hanging close with the Warriors for three periods. The Tigers, with four starters at 5 feet 8 or shorter, trailed 35-30 early in the fourth quarter after Abel Werner's three-point play.

"They don't play like they average 5-8," said the Warriors' Kawika Hepa, who finished with a team-high 15 points. "We expected to come out and win big, but they proved us wrong. They took it to us."

But following the three-point play, Werner missed a 3-pointer that would have cut the deficit to two, and Lokahi Holder saw a basket negated by a charging call that would have closed it to 37-32. Compounding matters, McKinley center Iakopo Taumua — its lone 6-footer — went down with an aggravated hernia injury with 6:10 remaining and Kamehameha went on an 8-0 run to make it 43-30.

The Tigers could not get closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

"Kamehameha was just too big and too disciplined in the end," said McKinley coach Bob Morikuni. "'Kopo's injury was big for us, but that's the way the game goes. We had our chances, but (they) played good defense and we didn't execute on our part. As short as we are, if we don't block out, we have no chance of beating anybody."

McKinley kept it close in the first half despite shooting only 31 percent (6 of 19) from the field. Kamehameha jumped to a 7-2 lead, but the Tigers clawed back and took a brief 16-15 lead on Holder's free throws with 3:21 remaining.

Hepa immediately answered with a layup and the Warriors never trailed again.

Waika Spencer, a 6-foot-5 junior, added 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting and 10 rebounds.

"Since midseason, teams have been packing it in on Waika," said Hepa, a 6-2 wing who hit 3 of 3 from 3-point range. "They collapse three or four guys on him whenever he gets the ball. So me and the other guards have been getting more opportunities."

Kamehameha coach Jesse Nakanishi said Hepa was just coming out of a late-season slump.

"Kawika really stepped it up," Nakanishi said. "If this means he's out of his slump, that's great timing for us."

Holder, a 5-8 senior, finished with a game-high 18 points on a variety of spin moves and high-arching jumpers in the paint.

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