WAIMEA — The Waimea High School Menehune hosted the Kapa‘a High School Warriors at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea Wednesday night. Both teams came into the contest boasting an 0-1 record and looking to crack the win column for
WAIMEA — The Waimea High School Menehune hosted the Kapa‘a High School Warriors at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea Wednesday night. Both teams came into the contest boasting an 0-1 record and looking to crack the win column for the first time this season.
The Warriors would do just that going on to a decisive 48-29 win over the Menehune. At times the Warriors looked flat out dominant, mostly due to its full court press, which stifled the Menehune and led to numerous easy buckets for Kapa‘a.
The first quarter was mostly the two teams jockeying back and forth trying to establish themselves on the offensive end. It was a pair of three pointers from Daniel Reise and Kana‘i Kahoonei-Thronas that put Kapa‘a on top with a modest 11-9 lead after the first. Reis finished the game with two from long range and 6 points in the game.
The second quarter was where the Warriors started to take control of the game and began pressing Waimea in the backcourt. Lance Miyashiro led the Warriors with 4 points in the quarter and led all scorers with 8 total points.
Waimea’s Duke Yadao led the Menehune with 7 points on the night, but overall had a tough night in the paint and wasn’t able to knock down the mid-range jumper as he did against the Red Raiders previously.
Nohili Kahepu‘u, Delos Reyes and Peterson Lahip all pitched in for the Menehune with 4 points each, but in the end it was Waimea’s inability to break Kapa‘a’s solid full court press which derailed the Menehune’s efforts.
Along with Miyashiro, the Warriors got contributions from Makana Aki and Matt Cummings with 6 points a piece, and both played outstanding defensive.
The win puts the Warriors at 1-1 on the season as the team prepares for a rematch against the 2-0 Red Raiders on Wednesday at Kaua‘i High School gym.
Kapa‘a seems to have clicked in the game Wednesday night, and if it can roll over that momentum into the game against the Red Raiders, it will be interesting to see what team can best establish itself offensively.
Waimea falls to 0-2 on the season, but will have a chance to notch that first win Saturday in Waimea as the Menehune prepares to host Kaua‘i.
In junior varsity action, Kapa‘a went on to an easy 73-52 win.
•Rick Killeen, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or sports@thegardenisland.com.
