Nothing fell in the first half for Waiakea, which missed free throws, layups, and jump shots — both in the paint and from long distance.
That was understandable because the night before guard Keegan Scanlan fell hard to the floor and went to the hospital, where his teammates stayed with him for a long night. Scanlan checked out of the hospital and is undergoing the school’s concussion protocol.
But Waiakea returned to form in the second half and roared past Keaau 58-50 in the final round of the Keaau/Waiakea tournament on Saturday night at the Warriors Gym.
“We came out sluggish in the first half, and everybody was down. The kids were up at the hospital all night,” Waiakea coach Paul Lee said. “I think the key point for us was the second quarter when they were up by 11 points, and we closed with an 8-0 run.”
Rekky Prudencio scored 17 points, sinking three triples, and Kiai Apele added 17 for the Warriors, who play in St. Francis tournament on Oahu and play Punahou in the first round. William Soares, Elijah Blankenship, and Makana Kaehuaea-Credo all added six points each.
Patrick Mears scored 17 points, and Neth Nethon added eight points for the Cougars, who had beat Hilo and Kealakehe in play-in games to make the BIIF Division I semifinals last season.
In the first half, the Cougars broke Waiakea’s 1-3-1 zone making the extra pass and hitting open shots to take a 26-23 halftime lead.
But right before the break, Prudencio attacked the basket and followed with a pair of 3-balls to give the Warriors a surge of momentum entering the third quarter.
Waiakea got hot early and jumped on a 26-4 run to take a 49-32 advantage into the final four minutes. The Warriors scored on putbacks, layups, and free throws. The only long-distance shot was Prudencio’s 3-pointer to cap the scoring spurt.
In the decisive third quarter, Keaau committed seven turnovers, and Waiakea scored 13 points off those giveaways.
When the Warriors weren’t outracing the Cougars in a track meet, Apele controlled the tempo in the second half with his ball-handling. He took defenders off the dribble to create mismatches and open shots for his teammates.
Waiakea’s interior scoring and speed sparked the scoring run. Kaehuaea-Credo and Soares scored on putbacks, Apele followed with two free throws, Prudencio and Apele scored off turnovers.
Nethon scored to interrupt the streak, but the Warriors practiced their layups, stealing the ball and running the floor for easy layups.
“Keaau’s defense was tough. They made us shoot 3s and take contested shots,” Lee said. “Part of our game plan was to go after it in the second half. Makana really stepped up for us. He got three or four steals for us in the third quarter. In the other game, he got six blocks for us. He’s not the biggest guy, but he gives our guards confidence that he’s back there.”