KALAHEO — The Westside Hornets came up with five critical points in the second half to outgun the Lihu’e Kings 15-10 and seal a 30-25 win for the title of the Boys 14 Under bracket at the Spring Break basketball
KALAHEO — The Westside Hornets came up with five critical points in the second half to outgun the Lihu’e Kings 15-10 and seal a 30-25 win for the title of the Boys 14 Under bracket at the Spring Break basketball tournament that wrapped up Saturday night at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
Chad Barba, notching nine points in the win, came up with a critical free throw to tie the contest late in the game before the Hornets’ defense kept the Kings off balance enroute to their victory.
“We made some shots; they missed some shots,” Hornets’ coach Maynard Shea said following the three-day tourney. “They (Kings) played really well. We got lucky.”
Josh Bradbury racked up ten game-high points for the Kings, but was virtually kept out of scoring range by the Hornets defense as the clock wound down.
Alan Kalili helped the Kings with six with Brendan Young and Kaleo Perez each chipping in three.
Barba’s nine points got some help from B. McDaniels who tucked in seven points, K. Achuela helped with six.
Despite the 3-point shooting ability of Pu’uloa Bandits’ Sandy Valdez, and the sweeping capabilities of Spike Rossi, the Lihu’e Ali’i subdued the team from Ewa on O’ahu to their lowest yield of the night in the final stanza to edge past the Bandits 59-56 for the 12 Under bracket title.
Tyrus Ceria-Lux ignited for ten of his game-total 15 points in the second half to lead the Ali’i with Tino Ramos coming up with a pair of treys in his 12-point contribution. Jonathan Gebauer added ten to round out the Lihu’e double digit scoring.
Rossi, Valdez, and Kainoa Feliciano combined for 40 of the Bandits’ 56 points as Valdez racked three treys in her 11 point showing, Rossi picking up a dozen markers, and Feliciano leading the Bandits with a game-high 17 points.
The tournament that started Thursday evening was coordinated by the Parks and Rec Department’s Westside staff and made possible through the contributions of Big Save, Inc., Wellington Fence, mayor Bryan Baptiste, and the generous hospitality of the participating Kaua’i basketball teams.
