WAIMEA — Kaua’i turnovers in the third period gave the Menehune the momentum en route to capturing the KIF boys basketball title 61-50 Friday night. The title came with a win over Kaua’i High School. Kaua’i’s Jonathan Gebauer broke a
WAIMEA — Kaua’i turnovers in the third period gave the Menehune the momentum en route to capturing the KIF boys basketball title 61-50 Friday night. The title came with a win over Kaua’i High School.
Kaua’i’s Jonathan Gebauer broke a 28-28 halftime stalemate with a bucket, only to have Waimea answer on a Chad Barba trey to light the fireworks’ fuse.
The Menehune picked the Raiders’ passes on at least five times to capitalize as Brendan Mc-Daniels joined Barba to build a 37-30 lead in the first four minutes of the quarter, the near-capacity crowd at the Clem Gomes cheering loudly.
Josh Bradbury answered for the Raiders at the 4:04 mark, but Waimea again picked passes with McDaniels adding two more buckets along with a Dana Tayco trey for the 44-36 reading at the buzzer.
Kaua’i answered back only to have Waimea counter, and at the 1:24 mark, Bradbury got a big hug from Raider coaches Brandon Fujita and Ipo Yoshioka as Justin Ramos took over the reins as the bench cleared.
Chris Newcomb sealed the Raiders’ fate with two backdoor plays in the final quarter en route to notching team-high honors with 14 points, 8 coming in the fourth period.
Barba followed in the Menehune scoring with 13 points including three from beyond the arc with McDaniels adding 12 points, 8 coming in the third quarter.
Bradbury topped the Kaua’i scoring with a game-high 16 points followed by Ramos’ 10-point contribution, Ramos enjoying a great game with a snatch of a Gebauer floor ball in the third period for a bucket, and 6 points in the final frame.
Kupa Graycochea finished with 16 points and Teila Huni added 14 points as the Kaua’i JV team got past Waimea 56-48.
Hayward Halog paced Waimea with 11 points followed by Kaimana Girod, Micah Moriwake, and Steven Rivera each adding 8 points.
