KAPA‘A — It was nip and tuck early on, but a 20-4 run by the Kapa‘a Warriors in the second quarter gave them some cushion, which they maintained for the rest of the contest in a 57-40 win over the
KAPA‘A — It was nip and tuck early on, but a 20-4 run by the Kapa‘a Warriors in the second quarter gave them some cushion, which they maintained for the rest of the contest in a 57-40 win over the Waimea Menehune, Saturday night at the Kapa‘a High School Gym.
Kapa‘a forward Duke Pauli controlled the tempo on both ends, pulling down boards, getting to the free-throw line and swatting shots, while also finishing with a game-high 17 points.
Forward Spam Lindsey was solid off the bench for the Warriors, scoring 14 points.
Waimea’s Bransen Agu scored 15 to lead the Menehune, mostly getting to the rim with the dribble drive. VJ Carineo had 10 for Waimea.
The Menehune played a strong opening quarter, getting a triple from Carineo and a steal-layup sequence from Agu to take a 14-12 lead at the end of the period.
The second quarter was where the Warriors took command, opening with a 3-pointer from Willis Batol to take a one-point lead and closing with a floater from Sean Shigematsu at the halftime buzzer that made it a 36-21 game at the break.
That lead was extended when Lindsey made a slick spin move in the paint and finished the layup to give the Warriors a 45-24 lead, their largest of the game.
Shigematsu chipped in eight points for Kapa‘a and Kekoa Calipano added six.
Waimea got six points from Xavier Guinao and four from Paul Oligo.
In the other varsity boys game Saturday, the Kaua‘i Red Raiders knocked off the Island School Voyagers by a 54-26 count.
In a balanced attack, Davone Florence (pictured on B2) was the game’s leading scorer, finishing with 12 points.
Bryan Andres added 11 and Cody Morden chipped in 10 for the Raiders.
Brandon Taylor was the high scorer for Island, finishing the night with eight points. Canaan Higa had seven.
The first game at the Kapa‘a High School Gym saw the Waimea JV boys close out a 59-56 win over Kapa‘a.
Kaili Schumacher-Lagundino was a force for the Menehune, on his way to a 27-point night. Niko Delos Reyes had nine for Waimea.
Daniel Reis scored 12 for the Warriors, followed by Kainoa Calipano’s nine.
Trailing 40-32 after the third, each offense continued to pile on points and Kapa‘a’s late charge came up just short.
