LIHUE — Kauai High School seniors Bryce Johnson-Cormack and Joseph Cumlat each scored 11 points Friday night to lead the Red Raiders to a 61-52 win before an enthusiastic senior night home crowd at the Kauai High School gym. Kauai’s
LIHUE — Kauai High School seniors Bryce Johnson-Cormack and Joseph Cumlat each scored 11 points Friday night to lead the Red Raiders to a 61-52 win before an enthusiastic senior night home crowd at the Kauai High School gym.
Kauai’s Randle Mones, the third senior, triggered a wave of cheers in the fourth quarter when he took a feed from Cumlat and bucketed it in the final four minutes of the game, completing a night where the three honored 12th graders marked the scorebooks.
Waimea High School, suffering a one-point loss in overtime to the Kapaa Warriors Tuesday night, came out strong, banking on three treys — two from guard Kasen Castro and one from Joel Soriano — to stay ahead of a seesaw first quarter.
Cumlat fueled the Raider comeback in the final three minutes of the opening quarter, firing off a trey en route to finishing the stanza with five points. He got help from CJ Cromartie and Vhincent Agreda who each netted four points to end the quarter 18-14.
The seesaw didn’t stop at the quarter, the Menehune coming back in the second quarter with 10 marks from guard DJ Pabre before he was sent to the locker room with a game-ending injury late in the first half.
Kauai worked to end the frame on a winning note, spreading its offense behind Johnson-Cormack and getting marks from five Raiders for the 31-30 bulge at the break.
Christian Manera announced the Raiders in the second half, and Waimea adjusted to the loss of its starting guard, falling short by five points in the third quarter, and three points in the final stanza for the 61-52 final.
Soriano, marking treys in the first and final quarter, topped the Menehune scoring, spreading his 16-point contribution in all four quarters followed by Pabre ending the night with 11 points before his injury. Castro added nine points, and Keoni Gaoiran contributed seven points before buzzing out in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders spread its scoring effort over 10 of its 11-player roster, led by Johnson-Cormack and Cumlat. Manera finished with eight second-half marks along with Agreda. Cromartie finished with seven points and Gunner Burkman and Kaimani Tecson each marked five points, Burkman getting strong support after launching his fourth-quarter three-ball.
Waimea fans were treated to an overtime nail-biter when the JV Menehune picked up its first season win over the JV Raiders, 40-35.
The move comes on Waimea rallying from a 25-13 halftime deficit, holding the JV Raiders to a 20-8 second half to force the overtime behind five-point contributions from Wade Pimsaguan and Lacin Montemayor.
Montemayor bucketed a pair in the extra four-minute overtime, joining DJ Sabo who bucketed four points.
The Raiders could not overcome the lid that stifled its efforts, scoring just two points from Gavin Toyofuku. He led the JV Raider effort with 10 points followed by Hunter Yoshioka ending with eight points. Keane Tibon and Ricky Malu Ralston each finished with five points.
Sabo topped the JV Menehune scoring on 14 points followed by Isahn Ulanday adding nine points, and Montemayor coming up with seven points.
After clinching the Kauai Interscholastic Federation championship last Friday, Kauai next travels to the Snapple Hawaii High School Athletic Association Hawaii basketball state championships which starts Feb. 15 on Oahu.
