Red Raiders hold off Menehune

LIHUE — Kauai High School’s Finn Haake went for a bucket in the third quarter Wednesday night against Waimea at the Kauai High School gym.

The shot was blocked by Waimea’s Jason Newall and the Menehune gained possession, triggering enthusiastic cheering from the several hundred people that jammed the Raiderdome for the Kauai Interscholastic Federation boys basketball game that saw the Red Raiders claim a 56-47 victory over Waimea.

The breakaway zoomed to the far end and Haake snagged the rebound, stalling play just long enough to seek out the point guard.

Joe McEvoy, the host family for Haake, was sorely absent on a business trip to the mainland, missing the action plays after religiously attending the Kauai High School games to support Haake’s efforts on the team.

Haake’s performance did not make the scorebooks, but was part of the Kauai play that held off a concerted Waimea effort to open the second round of KIF boys basketball.

“This was a hard-fought game,” said Kauai coach Ipo Yoshioka. “It was very physical out there, and we were lucky to come out on top. Throughout the game, in all that physical play, I’m proud that the boys as Red Raiders kept their composure.”

Following a defensive first quarter, Kauai ignited the nets in the second frame with Christian Manera and Kaimani Tecson leading the 22-point blaze, each scoring five points including a trey apiece.

“We put ourselves back in the hole,” said Waimea coach Dino Pabre, looking at the 31-18 halftime deficit. “Kauai capitalized on our turnovers. We got as many as they did, but we couldn’t close the door. Our second unit came in and gave us some energy so we kept them playing.”

Waimea rebounded off the break and outscored Kauai, 15-11, in the third quarter behind a trey from DJ Pabre and six points from Jhanelmar Cadiz.

“Kauai played a good game,” Pabre said. “They came out aggressive on the ball, but cooler heads prevailed. We started the second round in the corner, and we had to battle to get out. This was a good experience for the boys. What are you going to do when you’re backed in the corner? It’s about life lessons.”

DJ Pabre led the Waimea effort on 15 points followed by Joel Soriano adding 10 points and Cadiz with six points. Taylan Yadao got five points, including the game-opening pair when he drove the line — a nontraditional role for the Menehune three-point shooter.

Manera topped all scorers with 20 points including a pair of treys in Kauai’s seven bombs from outside the three-point mark. Shaun Paglinawan broke from his rebounding role to add 10 points. Tecson finished with eight points including a trey, and CJ Cromartie added seven marks including a trey.

Gunnar Burkman ended with a pair of treys as did Hunter Yoshioka who found his mark in the second quarter — the same period that David Pascua found the basket.

Kauai’s Xaerys Dela Cruz fired off a trey in the fourth quarter to lead the Red Raider junior varsity to a 44-41 comeback in the earlier contest.

Dela Cruz finished with 13 points in the victory followed by Jim Ehia III adding 10 points, including a first quarter three-ball.

Wade Pimsaguan topped the Menehune JV scoring with 18 points including a pair of treys, and Isaiah Ulanday added 10 points.

Waimea next hosts Kapaa on Saturday with the junior varsity game tipping off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity matchup. Kauai will travel to the Wilcox Gymnasium at Island School for a JV exhibition game starting at 5:30 p.m.