WAIMEA — The Waimea High School Menehune went into Saturday night’s game still seeking its first win of the season. Waimea hosted the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders and got off to a strong opening but couldn’t fend off the
WAIMEA — The Waimea High School Menehune went into Saturday night’s game still seeking its first win of the season. Waimea hosted the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders and got off to a strong opening but couldn’t fend off the Red Raiders on its way to a 3-0 start, and a 42-28 win over the Menehune.
The first quarter ended in a 6-6 tie, and Waimea was effective playing its zone defense. The Menehune should have had the lead going into the second if it were not for a number of turnovers the team committed, which let Kaua‘i back into the game. Unfortunately for Waimea, the turnover bug would infect most of the game moving forward.
The second quarter continued in the same vein, as Waimea again shot itself in the foot with turnovers and allowed the Red Raiders to capture the momentum of the game and pace itself out to a 19-11 lead.
Jassem Cumlat lead the way for Kaua‘i with 6 points in the first half, and Kerwin Morano also added 5 points to the effort.
Waimea was led by Duke Yadao and Peterson Lahip, who each had 5 points in the half.
The third quarter saw things get out of hand and the Red Raiders got out to a huge 32-18 lead and never looked back.
Waimea again showed signs of struggling against the full court press turning the ball over in the backcourt far too much. Kaua‘i, on the other hand, had an easy time moving the ball into the front court and capitalized on the frequent Menehune mistakes.
Morano was the top scorer in the game with 13 points, Mikal Moranz also added 12 points of his own and Cumlat finished with 9.
Waimea was led by Yadao with 11 points, Nohili Kahepu‘u also added 4 points from inside the paint.
The opportunities were there for the Menehune to take control of the game. In this case, it was Waimea’s mistakes more than the Red Raiders’ effectiveness which swung the game.
With the win Kaua‘i moves to 3-0 and will play the Kapa‘a High School Warriors (1-1) Wednesday night at the Kaua‘i High School gym.
The match-up could be Kapa‘a’s chance to narrow the gap between them and the Red Raiders.
Waimea falls to 0-3 and is still in search of its first win of the season. The team now has a bye and will wait to play Kapa‘a on Saturday night.
In junior varsity action, Kaua‘i easily dispatched the Menehune walking away with a 40-29 win.
