WAIMEA — Peter Rayno and his crew of officials earned their pay last night, as Waimea pulled away in a foul fest, 71-55 over the Warriors at the Clem Gomes Gymnasium. The 61 combined fouls for both squads set a
WAIMEA — Peter Rayno and his crew of officials earned their pay last night, as Waimea pulled away in a foul fest, 71-55 over the Warriors at the Clem Gomes Gymnasium.
The 61 combined fouls for both squads set a new KIF record.
“It was a dogfight, physical, up and down kind of game, but it feels good to get the win. We got one more to go,” Waimea head coach Elton Montemayor said.
Menehune shooting guard Brendan McDaniels had a field day from the start, tallying a game-high 26 points.
In the meantime, it was Bradley Frasco and Alden Lahip that provided the extra spurt the Menehune needed to pull away from Kapa’a in the fourth quarter.
With both teams in foul trouble, the Menehune were able to take the half-time lead (28-27) into the locker room, as McDaniels paced his team with 12 points.
Mike Lindsey provided the beef in the middle for Kapa’a and ended up with a team-high eight points at the midway point of the contest.
Kapa’a’s Greg Ragsac was plagued with fouls throughout the game, but was able to give his team the lead (32-31) for the first time at the six minute mark in the third on a bank shot.
However, after picking up his fourth foul a minute later, the Menehune capitalized on his absence and took the 48-46 lead at the end of three periods of play.
Early in the fourth, Lahip nailed a long three-point bomb and Chad Barba added a bucket, which handed Waimea the 53-46 advantage.
Kapa’a wasn’t able to answer the challenge and fell victim to Waimea’s tough defensive pressure.
Nate Beralas had the golden touch for the Warriors with a team-high 16 points.
Ragsac added nine and Lindsey ended up with eight points.
Besides McDaniels’ 26, the Menehune were led by Frasco’s 10 and both Barba and Chris Newcomb added nine each.
The Menehune improved to 3-0 in the first round and Kapa’a dropped to 0-3. Meanwhile, the idle Red Raiders are 1-1 and await Kapa’a on Tuesday.
“We’ve got a week to prepare for the Red Raiders, but it’s going to be tough to play them in the Raiderdome on Friday,” Montemayor said.
Waimea needs a Kapa’a win on Tuesday or a Kaua’i loss on Friday to clinch the first round KIF title.
In the JV contest, the Warriors evened the standings up at 2-1 with Waimea last night. Kapa’a defeated the Menehune, 45-35, thanks to Matt Lindsey’s 12 points.
Kekoa Prem and John Beralas followed up with 10 points apiece.
Daniel Lizama led Waimea with eight points and both Clarreson Torres and Ronnel Constantino provided six points in the loss.
Today’s KIF Schedule
- Swimming: 10 a.m., Kaua’i High pool
- Canoe Paddling: 10 a.m., Huleiwa River
- Soccer: 10 a.m., Waimea/Kapa’a, Hanapepe
- Softball: 10 a.m., Kaua’i at Waimea
