Moanalua's Saige Pulu attacks the basket against Roosevelt. Pulu scored a game-high 19 points in the win over the Rough Riders. Peter Caldwell | SL

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01231631_1601_Moa-Roos_056.jpg - Peter Caldwell | SL

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SALT LAKE—Moanalua jumped out to a quick start and never looked back to flatten Roosevelt, 74-48, to improve to 6-3 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association East standings at the Na Menehune's gymnasium on Friday night.

Roosevelt (3-6), who plays in the OIA White East, upset current-No. 1 Kaiser two days ago, 62-58 in overtime, but could not capitalize on the momentum. Nonetheless it was a good learning experience for Hathaway's young team.

"Too many guys told me they were nervous because they were on tv. We aren't on that much, but Moanalua was on fire tonight, they could not miss tonight. We didn't capitalize on the momentum," said Roosevelt coach Steve Hathaway.

The Na Menehune looked to play a complete game all season and they were satisfied with tonight's results.

"We all worked hard to get to this point and we had our losses in the beginning of the season, but we're coming together as a team. Coach wanted us to play a full game. We play a good half, but mess up in the second half. We shared the ball and everyone got touches," said Saige Pulu.

"We have been waiting for a game like this for a long time. We have been up and down all season. I challenged the kids, it's crunch time and playoffs are coming up and we need to play 32 minutes of solid basketball," said Moanalua coach Byron Mello.

Moanalua's starters combined for 63 of the team's 74 points. Saige Pulu scored a game-high 19 points and hurt the Rough Riders inside and out. James Wilkins and Caleb Casinas each added 16 points.

"We were sharing the basketball, we are a true team on offense and the decision making was terrific. We had a great shooting night, quite frankly, we don't have many great shooting nights. I was pleased with the kids' effort tonight," said Mello.

Moanalua jumped out to a 10-2 lead forcing Roosevelt to call a timeout. The Na Menehune extended the lead this time with a 8-2 run and led 21-4 after the first quarter.

The Rough Riders found some rhythm on offense as they went on a 5-0 run as they trailed, 25-14 and Moanalua called a timeout.

Pulu was on the receiving end of a give-and-go from Casinas as he made the layup before the buzzer sounded, giving Moanalua a 38-21 lead at halftime.

The basket was forgiving for the home team as the Na Menehune went 6 of 9 from the 3-point line. Pulu was 3 of 4 for the night. Moanalua also recorded six blocks for the game.

"Every time we make a run, they would hit a 3. Saige (Pulu) is a tough player. We couldn't get the stops we needed," said Hathaway.

Moanalua extended the lead to as much as 30 points, until Roosevelt made a scoring push at the end. Lio Ilalio scored nine points the lead the Rough Riders.

Both teams have two more regular season games before the playoff push. Moanalua will play at Farrington and host Kaiser, while Roosevelt will host Kaimuki and play at Kalani.