Waimea improves exponentially each time the team hits the hardwood, and the KIF can’t do anything but sit back and feel the pain. The Menehunes clinched the first round of KIF play at Clem Gomes gym last night with a
Waimea improves exponentially each time the team hits the hardwood, and the KIF can’t do anything but sit back and feel the pain.
The Menehunes clinched the first round of KIF play at Clem Gomes gym last night with a dominating 58-41 victory over the Kaua’i Red Raiders. Waimea improves to 3-0 in the regular season; Kaua’i falls two games back at 1-2.
For the third time in three games, the Menehunes were able to end the game in three quarters.
Winnie Arios, who led the Menehunes with 19 points on 7-12 shooting, nabbed three steals and notched six quick points to give his squad a 17-12 lead heading into the second quarter. The guard recorded four rebounds and three steals in the game.
The onset of the second belonged to Jordon Dizon.
The “garbage man,” who faught restlessly for loose balls and recorded a team high seven rebounds, scored 18 points on 8-13 shooting and recorded two blocks, one assist and a steal. He lifted his team with two key buckets and an emphatic stuff to put Waimea up 30-19 before the half.
The Red Raiders’ offense began to slip in the second. Kaua’i turned the ball over five times in the quarter, and totalled 18 in the game.
They recorded eight more in the third quarter, and Arios, Dizon and the impressive play of Darwin Tutop took severe advantage of it.
The trio accounted for 14 of the Menehune’s 19 third quater points.
Tutop, who recorded eight points on 3-5 shooting, along with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block, gave Waimea the extra boost that terminated the Red Raiders hopes for a victory.
The Menehunes had the cushion to sit on the ball in the fourth, and they eventually pulled out the decisive 58-41 win in a rather anti-climactic finale.
There were so many strong points in the Menehune lineup to highlight from the 17-point drubbing, but guards Winnie Arios and Darwin Tutop were the two that truly struck a chord in “Big Blue’s” game plan.
Arios was electric from start to finish. This was by far his most impressive outing of the season. He was intuitive- his handle mind numbing – and it was a combination of the guard’s smarts and skill that overwhelmed the Red Raider defense.
Arios didn’t do it alone. He had plenty of backcourt assistance from Darwin Tutop, a guard who has solidified what has become a complete Menehune attack. Tutup’s four rebounds were a major plus for Waimea’s defense, who are currently void of big man Austin Alquiza.
With two more games left in the first round, Wiamea finds itself cruising through the KIF season. Kapa’a will travel to Kaua’i, on Tuesday, to try to record its first win of the regular season.
