Sat, Feb 9, 2013 @ Kapolei

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Kahuku

44

Kapolei

48

Final	1	2	3	4
Kahuku (8-6, 10-19)	7	12	19	6	44
Kapolei (12-1, 20-10)	14	13	10	11	48

Curtis Tavares 14 pts  2 3pm  6/7 FTs

Lasselle Thompson 16 pts  6/7 FTs

Kapolei's Christopher Dillard lays in two points against Kahuku. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kahuku's Lasselle Thompson looks for space to operate between a trio of Kapolei defenders. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kapolei's Zachary Reeves moves the ball on the break against Kahuku. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kapolei's Christopher Dillard lays in two points against Kahuku. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kahuku's Lasselle Thompson looks for space to operate between a trio of Kapolei defenders. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kapolei's Zachary Reeves moves the ball on the break against Kahuku. Sylvia Lee | SL

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KAPOLEI-Kapolei scored 10 points off offensive rebounds, four in the fourth quarter, to fend off visiting Kahuku, 48-44, Saturday night in a quarterfinal of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red boys' basketball tournament.

The West top seed Hurricanes, who trailed 38-37 entering the fourth quarter, advance to Wednesday's semifinals against East second seed Moanalua, 5 p.m. at McKinley. Kapolei and Moanalua have secured Division I state berths.

"That's Kahuku," Kapolei coach Gary Ellison said. "They always show up to play no matter what sport they're in. They play hard."

The Red Raiders will visit Mililani, 6 p.m. Wednesday in a fifth-place semifinal. The winner will get one of the two remaining state berths, while the loser will be done for the season.

"These kids are hungry," Kahuku coach Darren Johnson said. "They want to keep playing."

Zachary Reeves and Christopher Dillard combined for 16 rebounds and 17 points for the Hurricanes. Reeves scored twice off of offensive boards, while Dillard did it once. Their work under the boards was appreciated considering Kahuku's Lasselle Thompson had 16 rebounds, 10 on the defensive side and four steals.

"Kahuku plays tough and we had to rebound," Reeves said. "We needed to win this game and the big men were battling down there. We had to battle back."

Added Ellison: "We were lacking defensive boards in the first half. We told them to pick it up in the second half. We had some foul trouble and that kind of hurt us a little bit."

Thompson wasn't just a defensive force for Kahuku; he led the team with 16 points. Kawehene Johnson add 13, nine in the second half.

For Kahuku, there were missed opportunities early and at the end.

"You go back and count all the missed layups, that's a back-breaker," Johnson said. "But the kids played hard. We knew we could play with them. In the first half, we missed some layups and second half down the stretch we missed some layups. But take nothing away from Kapolei. They deserve to be where they're at."

The Hurricanes led most of the game, including by as many as 12 with two minutes, 47 seconds left in the third quarter. But the Red Raiders stormed back with a 13-0 run to end the quarter with a 38-37 lead. During that run, the Hurricanes were called for three offensive player control fouls, two against Tavares, who played the final quarter with four fouls.

The game was tied at 42 with about four minutes left in the game. Reeves' outback put the Hurricanes up for good. Kapolei had a chance to cushion its lead in the closing minutes, going to the free throw line five times, but converting only 4 of 9. Kapolei finished 12 of 22 overall from the line.

"We just go through talking about that," Ellison said. "We have to work on those free throws."

Ellison was pleased with the all-around play. Despite Tavares and Reeves drawing their fourth fouls late in the third quarter, other stepped up their game.

"Ka'eo Soares came in and played well," Ellison said. "Josh Wills stepped up, Elia (McKeague) stepped up in the game. We had some key guys step up tonight."

Wills had seven points and three assists, a blocked shot and three rebounds and McKeague had a 3-pointer.