It was not a suitable personnel matchup from the start for Waiakea, which couldn’t score a lot of easy points (layups, putbacks, and free throws) against Konawaena, which looked taller, stronger and more experienced.
The Wildcats locked down defensively and relied on a 13-5 second-half spurt to power past the Warriors 54-40 in a BIIF Division I basketball game on Friday night at Waiakea’s gym.
Senior forward Kamaehu Makanui scored 16 points, junior guard Taven Hiraishi had 14 points, and Allan Coby Molina added 12 points for the Wildcats (3-1), who had 13 turnovers and led 23-21 at halftime.
Makanui, and Molina were starters on the 2020 Konawaena team that lost to Kamehameha in the BIIF final, costing it a state tournament spot. Makanui is a 6-foot-1 strong post presence, both scoring and defending, and Molina is the brother of sisters Chanelle, Celena Jane, and Cherilyn, so he’s got basketball in his blood. Molina had one floater, one putback, and made 3 of 6 free throws.
“We got off to a slow start. We’re trying to play fast, and we were attacking in transition and took a lot of bad shots,” Konawaena coach Donny Awa said. “We missed a lot of layups. Once we settled down in the third quarter and made one or two passes, we were able to get in a better rhythm, and I thought that made the biggest difference.
“We got good size this year. One big guy (Tevita Lavaka) came out for basketball, no experience, from volleyball. He’s got good lift, too, still wants to block everything. Our defense is going to be our identity, and pushing the ball up the court. We’re deep. I think we’re going to be an aggressive defensive team, a lot of pressure on the ball and let our defense create our offense, just get out in transition and run.”
Junior guards Reese Bergen and Ryder Cabreros scored nine points and and seven points, respectively, for the Warriors (1-1), who committed 18 turnovers and couldn’t find an offensive rhythm all night long.
Waiakea graduated all of its starters from the BIIF runner-up squad in 2020, and the inexperience showed in the easy points department.
“The boys put in a good effort, and we’ve got to learn from it and move forward and figure out ways to do better,” said Waiakea assistant Clayton Kaneshiro, who was filling in for coach Paul Lee. “We’ll take a look at film, practice and do our best. A lot of guys gave a lot of energy, and we can build on that.”
The Wildcats got a ton of easy points, and the Warriors didn’t. Konawaena had three layups (two by Molina and one by Makanui), two putbacks, and made only 16 of 32 free throws. Shaq had a career 52.7% free throw shooting percentage, so that’s something the Wildcats need to work on.
Waiakea had four layups, but three were in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach, had one putback, and made 5 of 11 free throws. The Warriors were unable to penetrate Kona’s interior defense and draw fouls. The Wildcats outscored the Warriors in easy points, 26-15.
When the tempo slowed down and half-court execution was required, the Warriors don’t have someone like Makanui who relies on his athleticism (size and speed) to race to the rim or Molina who uses his slippery dribbling to sneak in layups or hit close-range floaters.
That’s a tough task to rely on outside shooting to score points, especially if you don’t have a deep roster of long-range gunners and a point guard with pin-point passing and savvy court vision. Sophomore guard Peyton Smith was the only Warrior who showed a deft touch from long distance. He buried a pair of 3-pointers for his six points.
Hiraishi was a thorn in Waiakea’s side all night. He dished the ball to open shooters, played tough defense on opposing point guards, and made 10 of 15 free throws.
If his teammates were better free throw shooters, Konawaena would have won by a much bigger margin. But now, the secret is out: the Wildcats are worse free throw shooters than Shaq.
Still, the visitors from Kealakekua showed determination after Waiakea grabbed a 14-10 first-quarter lead. Bergen sank 1 of 2 free throws, converted a layup, and junior guard Jayke Prudencio buried a 3-pointer for an early 10-1 lead.
In the second quarter, Kona outscored Waiakea, 13-7. The Wildcats hit just 5 of 9 free throws, and Lavaka, a 6-2 senior, scored on a putback to push Kona ahead 23-18 with under two minutes before halftime.
With under three minutes in the third quarter, Konawaena started to make its move. Makanui sank a left-handed layup, something some BIIF players struggle with, then Smith drained a 3-pointer to cut Kona’s lead to 33-30.
Molina burned Waiakea’s interior help-side defense with consecutive layups, Hiraishi made 3 of 4 free throws, and Molina slashed through the teeth of the defense for a nice floater and a 44-30 cushion with under six minutes left in the game.
Then with under four minutes, Kona’s Shaq-like free throw shooting misadventures began. The Wildcats made just 4 of 10 free throws to close the game.