Undefeated Waimea takes Round 1 outright

WAIMEA — A timeout gave Waimea three points, the game and the first-round title Tuesday.

Faced with four seconds remaining and a three-point deficit, Kaua‘i called a timeout after Waimea’s Dana Tayco missed a pair of free throws.

Wrong move.

With Kaua‘i out of timeouts, Chris Newcomb headed to the line for a pair of technical free throws and, more importantly, control of the ball.

Newcomb knocked them both down, and and Braxton Garma hit one of two with two seconds to go to ice the 53-47 victory.

With the win, Waimea improves to 4-0 and captures the first round title in KIF basketball.

A Red Raider victory in Menehuneland would have meant both teams had one loss with Kaua‘i hosting Kapa‘a Friday night in the final game of Round 1.

Instead, Waimea took it outright.

“There’s a different hero in each game,” one fan said as he trooped through the doors of the Clem Gomes Gym.

Last night, that hero was Calsen Agrade, the Menehune No. 3 man who ignited things in the opening period with one of two three-pointers.

Bradley Frasco netted the first, followed by Agrade, as Waimea chipped out an 11-9 lead against a tight Kaua‘i defense.

Agrade finished with a game-high 14 points and Frasco netted a dozen. Newcomb’s strength in the paint produced 11 points, including the crucial free throws at the end.

Travis Stine might not necessarily be the tallest or biggest player on the Kaua‘i squad, but that did not stop him from netting 13 points before leaving the game on an injury in the fourth period.

Basil Walton had 8 of his 11 points in the first half as both teams battled for control of the see-saw game throughout the night.

Feisty Kaua‘i guard Bradley Semana finished with 7 points and the Menehune defense held Jordan Cox to just 5 points.Tyrus Ceria-Lux had one from beyond the three-point arc.

Tayco finished with 6 second-half points for Waimea, followed by Garma and Vincent Vea each adding 3 in the win.