PAHOA — Keinan Agonias dazzled the home crowd with a fantastic shooting show, but unfortunately it was only for one quarter while Konawaena’s Austin Ewing was consistent from start to finish.
Ewing scored 21 points and the Wildcats attacked the rim time and again to thump Pahoa 55-39 in a BIIF basketball game on Wednesday night at the Daggers Gym.
It was a matchup of BIIF champions with the Division I Wildcats, the three-time defending champion, and the Division II Daggers, but it was also a contrast in scoring balance.
Kupono Kane added nine points, and Paka Cacoulidis had eight for the Wildcats (8-1), who shot 41.7 percent (15 of 36) and made 22 of 25 free throws.
Just for good measure, the Wildcats hit two 3-pointers: Ewing had one and Kane had the other.
Ewing sank 9 of 11 free throws. He spent most of his time either attacking the rim for his five layups or dishing to teammates.
Agonias scored 18 points, including 17 in the first half, to lead the Daggers (4-4), who shot just 32 percent (11 of 34) and hit 15 of 23 free throws. He had six of Pahoa’s field goals.
Kili Oliveira added nine points, going 8 of 12 from the line, and Kealii Luis had six points for the Daggers, who missed all types of shots: 3-point attempts, jump shots and layups and even putbacks.
Luis had three baskets, Oliveira one field goal and Vijay Julian had the other bucket for the Daggers, who just couldn’t find any offense, even while searching long and hard for anything all night long.
The Daggers came out in the third quarter ice cold, forgetting their shooting stroke in the locker room. They missed their first seven shots, and had just one field goal — Luis’ putback with 1:40 left to cut Kona’s lead to 31-25.
It was a different story in the first half.
Agonias put on a shooting show in an entertaining first half, which Pahoa trailed 22-21. He scored 17 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer in the first quarter.
The 5-foot-10 senior guard showed why he’s considered one of the league’s top shooter, hitting pull-up jumpers, shots off the dribble and 3-pointers. Konawaena played a man defense and no one could stop him in the game’s first 16 minutes.
In the first quarter, Agonias buried five shots in a row, including his buzzer-beater. The only other Dagger with a field goal was Luis, who scored to give Pahoa a 21-20 lead with 2:05 left in the second period.
Ewing dropped in a layup with a minute left in the second quarter to push Kona ahead 22-21 at halftime. The 5-10 sophomore guard scored 11 points in the first half, attacking the basket with three layups and sinking one 3-pointer for the Daggers.
The Wildcats forced 19 turnovers and outscored the Daggers off giveaways, 11-4.
In the junior varsity game, Konawaena won 54-22.
Konawaena 11 11 14 19 — 55
Pahoa 14 7 5 13 — 39
Kohala 49, Hawaii Prep 46, OT: Kainalu Emeliano-Solomon scored 17 points, Chance Pang finished with 12 and the Cowboys came back for an overtime win in Waimea.
Jonas Skupeika led all scorers with 22 points for Ka Makani (4-3), which fell out of first place with its third loss in four games.
The Cowboys (4-6) rallied from a seven-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to force overtime to end a three-game losing streak. It was a much-needed win for Kohala, which rejuvenated its Division II playoff chances, moving a game and a half behind Pahoa for the fourth and final postseason berth.
Only 2 1/2 games separate the top five teams in the standings.
HPA’s JV won 42-40.
Kohala 5 7 9 18 10 – 49
Hawaii Prep 6 5 17 11 7–46
Waiakea 69, St. Joseph 28: Calvin Mattos led three scorers in double figures with 17 points and the host Warriors ran their record to 10-0.
Noah Ferreira added 16 points and Kahinu Alapai added 10 for Waiakea, which is two games from a perfect regular season.
Cole DeSilva led the Cardinals (5-4) with eight points.
Waiakea won in JV game 55-17.
St. Joseph 7 9 8 4– 28
Waiakea 20 16 18 15– 69
Honokaa 63, Kealakehe 54: Jonathan Charbonneau scored 17 and Koa Callihan (11 points) and Kainalu Lau (10 points) also hit double figures to lead the Dragons (6-3) to victory on the road.
While Honokaa moved back into first place in Division II, the Waveriders (3-6) fell further behind in the Division I playoff race with their third consecutive loss, despite 16 points from Blaine Broberg.
Keaau 66, Ka’u 36: Charles Caldwell-Kaai scored 17 points, Kirk Imai added 15 and the Cougars won in Pahala to end a seven-game losing streak.
Jyric Queniahan chipped in with 11 points for Keaau (2-7), which led 36-13 at the half.
Joven Padrigo led the Trojans (0-8) with nine points.
Keaau’s JV won 46-28.
Keaau 14 22 16 14–66
Ka’u 4 7 13 12–36
Hilo 58, Laupahoehoe 37: The visiting Vikings’ third consecutive victory moved them 1 1/2 games ahead of Kealakehe for the fourth and final playoff spot in Division I.
The Seasiders fell to 0-8.
