LIHUE — Kauai High School’s varsity boys basketball team defeated Waimea, 71-62, Tuesday evening at home. With the win, the Red Raiders end their Kauai Interscholastic Federation regular season 6-3 overall, including a first round playoff win, and went 2-2
LIHUE — Kauai High School’s varsity boys basketball team defeated Waimea, 71-62, Tuesday evening at home.
With the win, the Red Raiders end their Kauai Interscholastic Federation regular season 6-3 overall, including a first round playoff win, and went 2-2 in the second round.
“I thought we came closer after what happened tonight. We just bonded and just played as a team,” said Kauai junior guard Bryce Johnson-Cormack. “We were very motivated.”
Kauai shook off a slow start and went on to lead by double-digits in the second half.
“They just needed to find their groove,” said Kauai High assistant coach Rich Colipano. “Slowly, it was coming around in the second quarter. They started hitting the threes, which really helped them big.”
Kauai High was without senior forward Kekoa Tecson. He suffered what appeared to be a severe leg injury during pregame warmups.
Tecson is not expected to play in the championship playoff game. Colipano said it was a “freak accident.”
“It looked like he was just laying it up. We couldn’t tell if he laid it up hard. It looked regular. He was just taking off, and he just fell,” Colipano said.
“We’re all praying for him. It was very emotional,” Johnson-Cormack added. “It was really hard. It got into our minds. Just seeing that happen to one of our closest friends, like one of our good players on our team, it’s sad.”
Waimea (0-7 KIF, 0-3 2nd round) led 16-13 at the end of the first period.
“It’s the same scenario every game — the second half is all about coming back, but we fell short at the end,” said Waimea assistant coach Dino Pabre. “The momentum was changing, but we don’t play a fifth quarter. We ran out of time. But like I said, Kauai High played a hell of a game. We wish them the best of luck in the next game Tuesday.”
Pabre expressed concern for Tecson and wishes him a speedy return.
“They came out ready despite what happened before during warmups,” Pabre said. “I’m sure everybody is thinking about it. Hopefully, Kekoa recovers quickly from this.”
Johnson-Cormack had 18 points, four steals and three assists for the Red Raiders. Senior guard Kaone Miguel had 15 points, three assists, two steals and two rebounds. Senior forward Braeden Armstrong had eight points and 11 rebounds.
Waimea senior forward Briggs Agu had a double-double and was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points, 10 rebounds and two steals.
“We did well on the inside. We got some second chance shots,” Agu said. “We’re just bigger. We got bigger size.”
Menehune junior forward Kelly Ragasa also had a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and a block. Senior forward Seaton Farias had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Kauai High also won the junior varsity game, 38-27. Sophomore guard Michael Dasalla had 10 points for the JV Red Raiders.
Sophomore forward Joel Soriano had 10 points for Waimea’s JV team.
Waimea will play at Kapaa (6-2 KIF, 3-0 2nd round, 0-1 playoff) on Friday to conclude the KIF regular season. The JV game will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity will follow.
“One more opportunity for us to pull it together,” Pabre said. “As long as our players try their best and give us 100 percent effort, you can’t fault them for that. (In) sports, somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. But if you give your 100 percent, you still can meet goals and you still can succeed regardless of what the outcome is. Hopefully, our kids will put their 100 percent in this game, and make free throws.”
Kauai High will play at Kapaa for the KIF championship playoff game at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
