WAIMEA — The Kapa‘a High School Warriors took its 6-2 record on the road to the Clem Gomes Gym Friday night to take on the Waimea Menehune, which were facing its last opportunity to notch a win on the season.
WAIMEA — The Kapa‘a High School Warriors took its 6-2 record on the road to the Clem Gomes Gym Friday night to take on the Waimea Menehune, which were facing its last opportunity to notch a win on the season.
With a win the Warriors could wrap up a first place finish over the 6-3 Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders. That is precisely what Kapa‘a was able to do, grinding out a 59-53 win over the Menehune.
It wasn’t a pretty win, and Waimea battled the Warriors to the bitter end but could never come up with enough momentum to take a lead.
The game marked one of the few times this season the Warriors struggled to score. The team was led by Morean Clements, who finished up with 13 points, Daniel Reis with 11 and Lance Miyashiro with 9.
Waimea was led by Duke Yadao, who finished with a game-high 23 points, and caught fire near the end of the second quarter and drained three straight three-point balls to pull the Menehune within 4 points at the end of the half.
Waimea was able to keep the game close throughout and received solid games from Peterson Lahip, who had 10 points, and senior Nohili Kahepu‘u, who put forth his best performance of the year with 10 points and played actively inside for the Menehune.
The second half proved to be a more physical game with both teams becoming a bit frustrated at one another. A technical foul was handed out to Kapa‘a in the third quarter and Waimea was getting the Warriors out if its game. If not for a pair of three’s from Reis and nice play from James Stevens, the Menehune may have taken the lead, but found themselves down 46-42.
The fourth and final quarter played out much of the same way. Scoring was hard to come by, and Kapa‘a was able to change its defensive philosophy on Yadao, not allowing him to get open looks from beyond the three point line. It was that change in strategy that kept Yadao scoreless in the fourth and allowed Kapa‘a to run away with the game.
With the win Kapa‘a finishes 7-2 and ensures that it will move on to the Hawaiian Airlines Boys Basketball State Championships on O‘ahu, which will be held Feb. 20 to 23.
Waimea finishes the season winless at 0-8 but should prove to have a bright future, as the team will retain Yadao and Lahip, its two most consistent scorers.
In junior varsity Kapa‘a walked away with an easy 71-59 win over the Menehune.
• Rick Killeen, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or sports@thegardenisland.com.
