KAPA‘A — The Kaua‘i Red Raiders almost made an improbable comeback against the McKinley Tigers in Wednesday’s championship game of the Fifth Annual Kapa‘a Basketball Tournament, but ultimately fell short in a 39-36 loss. After digging themselves into an early
KAPA‘A — The Kaua‘i Red Raiders almost made an improbable comeback against the McKinley Tigers in Wednesday’s championship game of the Fifth Annual Kapa‘a Basketball Tournament, but ultimately fell short in a 39-36 loss.
After digging themselves into an early hole, which saw saw McKinley take a 17-2 lead in the first quarter, Kaua‘i used pressure and aggressive defense to claw back into contention.
Devon Florence was the Raiders’ leading scorer with 12 points. Brian Andres and Joe Duronslet each scored nine.
Jason Kamano had 13 for McKinley and Rio Kwon chipped in 10.
McKinley had its biggest lead midway through the second quarter at 29-7, but Kaua‘i began to close the gap by causing turnovers and getting out into transition, which is its strength.
The Raiders used a 9-2 run to close the half and went into halftime trailing 31-16.
McKinley’s big early lead was a credit to its precision on the offensive end, running its sets and identifying the open shooters, who all seemed to be knocking down shots from distance. Kaua‘i then began to do a better job of closing out on the perimeter and increasing its defensive intensity.
The Raiders began the third quarter with an 8-2 run to shrink the lead back down to nine points, which is how the fourth quarter started at 35-26.
Two fast-break buckets tightened the gap to 35-30, before Cameron Largusa found Andres with a nice pass underneath the basket for a layup, making it a three-point game.
McKinley responded with a big shot from Kamano, who knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 38-32 with 3:15 to play. It was his only field goal of the second half.
Duronslet got himself a layup to make it 39-36 and Kaua‘i forced a McKinley turnover with 19.7 seconds remaining.
The Raiders ran their offensive set looking for the game-tying 3-pointer, which was taken by Florence from a few feet beyond the three-point arc. The shot did not fall, giving McKinley the tournament championship.
In earlier action, the Kapa‘a Warriors defeated King Kekaulike, with each team having split its first two games of the week, in the tournament’s third-place game.
Kapa‘a took an early lead and held off King to come away with a 58-50 win.
Duke Pauli led all scorers with 34 points, balancing his effort by scoring 17 in each half. Willis Batol added eight for the Warriors.
Bradey Norman scored 18 for King, while David Moniz and Javon Swain scored nine and eight, respectively.
Kapa‘a led 33-20 at halftime and maintained control throughout the second half to secure the eight-point victory.
KIF basketball will begin regular season play on Tuesday, Dec. 29.
Just the girls will be in action that day as Kaua‘i hosts Kapa‘a with JV beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity to follow.
The Island School Voyagers will take on the Waimea Lady Menehune in a JV exhibition game at 5:30 p.m. at Island School.
The boys will get underway on Saturday, Jan. 2.
Kaua‘i is set to host Kapa‘a with the JV game beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity to follow.
The Island School Voyagers will host the Waimea Menehune with just a varsity matchup at 5:30 p.m.
