Michael Lasquero | ScoringLive
January 9, 2016, 10:31pm
No. 5 Kalaheo steamrolls host Kalani, 66-41
Captain Whitlock led all scorers with 24 points to help Kalaheo pick up its fourth straight win in league play. CJ Caraang | SLAINAKOA — Kalaheo's speed and athleticism was too much for host Kalani in its 66-41 win Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division win Saturday night.
The Mustangs (4-0 OIA East, 15-4 overall) ranked fifth in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Boys Basketball Power Rankings, accumulated 14 total steals en route to their fourth straight victory to begin league play.
"We're just going out there playing hard, listening to coach and playing with each other" said junior Captain Whitlock.
Kalaheo, the defending Division I state champions, used an active zone defense to build a 22-6 lead after the first quarter. The Falcons (0-4, 4-10) committed seven turnovers and was 3-for-11 shooting in the opening period.
"We've kind of been starting slow for the past couple of games," said Kalani coach Nathan Davis. "Kalaheo is a real disciplined team that's going to give you problems. I think their athleticism kind of bothered us. Their zone defense really tests you and is well put together. It's probably one of the best zone defenses that I've seen."
Whitlock stepped up with senior point guard Kekai Smith nursing a knee injury, scoring a game-high 24 points on 50 percent shooting (7 of 14) while going 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
"A big positive for us is Captain," said Kalaheo first-year coach Ryan Pardini. "He's able to turn it on and he's got a great perimeter game. He takes a lot of the load for us on the ball handling side while Kekai Smith is out. He's able to pus the ball up the floor and our tempo is a little better."
The junior guard also knocked down a pair of timely treys in the fourth quarter when Kalani was on a 8-0 run. Kalaheo had a 47-26 third quarter lead whittled down to 47-34 after a corner triple from Kalani's Kapaa Nishimura. Whitlock nailed a triple to cut the run and drained another one to put the Mustangs ahead 53-36.
"It was definitely good for my confidence because I haven't really been shooting as well as I should," he said. "Coach gave me the confidence to go out and shoot it and I just took the shots that came to me."
Andrew Kearney and Christian Graham had nine points each and Alex Layi added eight more to support Whitlock's performance.
Nishimura had 16 points to lead the Falcons in the loss.
