Despite Hilo High sophomore forward Peyton Pana’s 16 points in the third quarter, Kamehameha prevailed 52-49 in a BIIF basketball game on Tuesday night at the Vikings gym.
Pana was simply unstoppable in a tide-turning third quarter Division I showdown against Kamehameha, which is taller but much younger.
Pana scored 16 points in the third quarter, turning a 33-24 halftime deficit into a 46-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
But the Vikings, who had 12 turnovers and struggled to make shots or free throws, couldn’t hold the lead.
Kamehameha senior Darius Olloway, a 6-foot-4 center, tied the game 46-46 with 2:58 left, and sophomore guard Kaleb Guerrero pushed the Warriors ahead 51-49 with 55 seconds left.
“It’s what I expected from two of the better teams on the Big Island,” Kamehameha coach Mea Wong said. “Hilo coach Ben Pana had his guys playing hard. My message to the team was trust each other, even when we were down in the fourth quarter.
“What can you say about young Pana? He’s a monster. But at the end, we hit a few more free throws than them and made more shots.”
Hilo senior guard RJ Solmerin had a chance to tie the game with two free throws with 49.9 seconds to go but missed both. He also missed a layup with the Vikings behind 52-49 with eight seconds left. Braedy Yamada, a 6-0 senior forward, sank two free throws for a 52-49 lead with 17.9 seconds remaining.
Nixis Yamauchi, a 6-foot freshman guard, scored 12 points, Olloway and Yamada scored eight points each, Kiai Yasso, a 6-1 freshman guard, added eight points off the bench, and Guerrero had seven points for the Warriors (3-1), who had 17 turnovers and made 11 of 18 free throws.
Besides starting senior guard Logan Watterson who is 5-8, all of the Warrior starters are at least 6 feet, and they have size on the bench.
Solmerin added eight points, and Jayden Villena had seven points for the Vikings (3-1), who committed 12 turnovers and made just 3 of 6 free throws.
Unlike the girls, there appears to be far more parity among the top three teams: Hilo, Kamehameha, and Konawaena.
Keaau, Kealakehe, and Waiakea are all young and inexperienced, but one will emerge to grab the No. 4 spot to the for-team BIIF playoffs.
The Warriors relied on their athleticism to take the Vikings off the dribble and draw fouls in the first half. Kamehameha sank 10 of 17 free throws while Hilo didn’t take any trips to the charity stripe.
Kamehameha’s bench also provided a boost. Yasso scored six points off the bench in the first half, and Jake Iwasaki, a 5-6 senior guard, added two points.
Yasso scooped in a shot with five second left to deliver Kamehameha a 33-24 halftime lead.
Solmerin dropped in three layups for six points in the first half. Villena added five points.
In the first quarter, Yamauchi put together a scoring highlight reel with nine points. He hit a layup and a jump shot, 2 of 3 free throws, and sank a pull-up elbow jumper to tie the score 12-12 at halftime.
Soccer
Hilo 7, Parker 0: Leha Harman tallied three goals and Issac Knell had two as the Vikings won at Hilo Bayfront.
Michael DeCoito and Kasen Mehau also scored for Hilo (4-1) and Tait Labra and Keona Daleres combined on the shutout of the Bulls (1-4).
Makua Lani 11, Christian Liberty 2: Kawaihua Paikuli-Campbell and Aukele Paikuli-Campbell each recorded hat tricks in Kailua-Kona as the Lions rebounded from a loss a day earlier against Hilo.
Kala’e Mills scored twice for Makua Lani (4-1), and Nu’uhiwa Beatty, Chase Lurbiecki and Ezekial Imai had a goal apiece.
Joe Glenn scored two goals for the Canefire (1-4).