Keaau came out energized, played extremely hard and had a good shot to upset Waiakea in the BIIF basketball playoffs but couldn’t stop committing turnovers.
The Warriors prevailed over the turnover-prone Cougars 51-45 in the first round of the Division I postseason on Thursday night at their gym.
Keaau junior guard Joshua Kahoalii sank a 3-pointer for a 43-43 tie with 2:34 remaining, but AJ Doll quickly scored to push Waiakea ahead.
Then the Cougars committed consecutive turnovers, the latter a harmful one when Keaau passed the ball right to Waiakea. The Keaau fans let out a collective groan, knowing the Cougars’ energy escaped from the gym.
The Warriors sank 6 of 8 free throws to close out the game, which featured too many turnovers from both teams. Keaau had 26 turnovers, including seven in the fourth quarter. Waiakea had 22 turnovers, including four in the final eight minutes.
Ryder Cabreros scored 12 points, and Doll added 10 for the Warriors, who walloped the Cougars 56-37 on Feb. 2 in the first meeting.
“Keaau played way harder than us throughout the whole game,” Waiakea coach Paul Lee said. “I missed the first game, and how they played on film was not near how they played. The coach (Adam McGuire) did a good job getting them ready for us. It’s been a long, tough year for us. We had three or four quarantines, so the whole team was out and no practices. In the last month, we got seven practices in. We’re lacking in a lot of areas. We missed a lot of easy layups, turned over the ball, basic stuff we normally take care of.”
Rayden DeMello scored 12 points, and Kahoalii added 10 for the Cougars (1-7), who lose seven seniors, including starters DeMello and Zayre Fuiava, who scored seven points.
The Warriors (5-3) play at Kamehameha (7-1) in the BIIF semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday at Koaia gym.
“I’ve got to do a better job of getting these guys ready. Otherwise it’s going to be a long, long night,” Lee said. “But you have to give Keaau credit. They played unreal and probably deserved to win the game. Luckily, we made some plays at the end and came out on top. It was a well-played game by Keaau.
“To beat Kamehameha, we can’t turn the ball over like we did, make those easy layups, make our free throws (11 of 16), and do a better job of blocking out. I think Keaau had over a dozen offensive rebounds. They’re not big, but they got heart and outworked us. If we come out like that tomorrow night, it’s going to be a very, very long night.”
Keaau buried seven 3-pointers. Kahoalii drained three, DeMello had two, and Fuiava and senior Damon Sharp each had one 3-pointer.
Jett Mantz buried a pair of 3-pointers for Waiakea, and Peyton Smith hit one triple.
Waiakea junior forward Clayton Morante scored with 27 seconds left to tie it 23-23 at halftime.
Hawaii Prep 66, Honokaa 39: Braeden Samura’s 16 points paced a balanced effort that saw four players score in double figures in Waimea as Ka Makani coasted to the semifinals.
Tre Walker (15 points), Bear Wawner (14), Roi Endo (13) also played big roles for HPA (5-3), which advanced to face Ka’u on Friday night in Pahala.
Elijah Kaupu-Alip scored nine points for the Dragons (3-4), who trailed 36-18 at the half.