Through the decades, there have been many great battles on the basketball court between long-time crosstown rivals Hilo and Waiakea, and Monday night wasn’t one of them.
The Warriors enforced their will against Hilo and romped to a 61-31 victory in a BIIF Division I showdown at the Vikings gym, where the hosts looked sluggish and out of sync all night long.
It’s the first time in recent memory that Waiakea put away Hilo with a 35-point mercy rule victory. After backup Keelen Andres sank one of two free for a 58-23 lead with under six minutes left, the running clock started.
Keegan Scanlan came off the bench and scored 16 points, and Kiai Apele added 15 points for the Warriors (9-1), who close their regular season at Konawaena and at home against Kohala.
Waiakea is in position to win the regular season title, which includes the league’ first berth to the HHSAA tournament. The other state berth would be available in the four-team BIIF playoffs, which looks unpredictable with Konawaena, Keaau, and defending champion Kamehameha still fighting for seeding positions.
Scanlan nailed three 3-pointers, and Apele had two for Waiakea, which shot 52 percent, incuding 8 of 13 from 3-point range. Rekky Prudencio also bombed two triples and finished with nine points.
Kaukahi Alameda and Jonah Tominaga did most of the scoring with 15 and eight points, respectively, for the Vikings (7-3), which missed on a chance to tie Waiakea for first place in the standings. Hilo finishes its regular season at home against Honokaa and on the road at HPA.
Hilo looked up to the challenge in the first quarter and trailed just 15-14.
Then Waiakea simply outplayed the Vikings on both sides of the ball. The Warriors took better shots, played tenacious defense and crushed Hilo’s confidence.
The Warriors’ teamwork showed up on the defensive end. The visitors ball-pressure and traps forced 20 Hilo turnovers. The Warriors had just 16 giveaways.
Alameda had a dominant first quarter with 10 points. He drained two 3-pointers and dribbled past defenders for his shot.
But in the second quarter, Waiakea’s experience and diversity took over. The Warriors outscored the Vikings, 20-1 and held them to 0 of 11 shooting.
Scanlan came off the bench and bombed a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 16 points in the first half. The Warrior scored from long range, on putbacks and layups and every other imaginable way.
Apele’s all-around skills took over. He nailed two triples, got layups and steals and finished with nine points in the first half. He controlled the tempo and the ballgame in the second half.
Alameda hit one of two free throws with 2:21 left for Hilo’s only point in the second period in a lopsided game fans of the long-time rivalry are not used to.
In the JV game, it was Hilo 70, Waiakea 32.
Waiakea 15 20 20 6 — 61
Hilo 14 1 6 10 — 31
Hawaii Prep 68, Honokaa 53: Valentinas Ulinas scored 21 points to lead four Ka Makani players in double figures in Waimea as Ka Makani moved two games from an unbeaten regular season.
Michael Hughes chipped in with 11 points and KJ Walker and Matija Vitorovic each had 10 for HPA (10-0), which outscored the Dragons 18-8 in the second quarter to lead 42-27 at halftime.
Isaac Jardine led all scorers with 22 points for Honokaa (3-6) and Kalewa O’Neil added 11. The Dragons have lost three in a row, but can solidy their hold on the third seed in D-II on Wednesday against Parker.