Waimea out-rebounded Kaua’i 37-29, committed three less turnovers and shot .416 from the field to win the KIF opener 44-34 at the Raiderdome in Lihue. Jordon Dizon, who led the Menehunes in scoring (7-9, 16 pts., 8 rebounds), was electric
Waimea out-rebounded Kaua’i 37-29, committed three less turnovers and shot .416 from the field to win the KIF opener 44-34 at the Raiderdome in Lihue.
Jordon Dizon, who led the Menehunes in scoring (7-9, 16 pts., 8 rebounds), was electric down low. He took high percentage shots-which attributed to his .777 field goal percentage-and jousted Red Raider forwards from the box to help Waimea win the battle of the boards.
Dizon had a bit of help down under.
Menehune forwards Austin Alquiza and Darwin Tutop combined for 15 rebounds, and guard Winnie Arios added six to give Waimea a concise advantage under the net.
Kaua’i, who shot a dismal .234 from the field, couldn’t find their groove beyond the arc. The Red Raiders only made six of their 22 three-point attempts and shot just 10-43 overall.
But the good news for the Red Raiders is they never trailed by much throughout the game-Waimea led by only one-point going into the fourth quarter.
In fact, they had an 8-4 lead early in the first, stemming from a three-point dagger from Alec Reichle. But Waimea’s Chesley Barba answered with a three of his own with1:23 left on the clock, and the Menehunes would pull to an 11-8 lead after one.
The Red Raiders found life in the second quarter. Reichle hit two consecutive threes and Alec Carbonel (3-14, 11 pts.) caused two Menehune turnovers to give Kaua’i a 25-20 half-time lead.
But the Menehune rebounding began to show on the scoreboard in the third.
Alquiza, Tutop and Dizon brought down 14 boards in the quarter and Arios (2-8, 9 pts, two assists) and Tutop (3-6 from 3pt. range, 11 total points) would hit back-to-back threes to give the Menehunes a 31-30 cushion going into the fourth.
The Menehunes cruised from there.
Arios knocked down a plush 12-footer and Dizon powered through forward Jason Sahara for two to give the Menehunes a 40-34 lead with 1:56 left in the ball game.
Waimea hugged the ball and hit a few free-throws down the stretch to net their first victory of the KIF season.
Red Raider guard Lionel Tomacder led his team with eight rebounds, Sahara brought down six and laid down two emphatic blocks, and Alec Carbonel had three steals.
Guard Chesley Barba had four assists for the Menehunes, and teammate Desmond Rodrigues had three points, two rebounds, an assist, and one steal.
