Moanalua's Jamaal Willis elevates to attempt to block a shot attempt against Roosevelt. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Moanalua's Karson Cruz elevates to secure a rebound against Roosevelt. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Roosevelt's Mick Colling drives the ball to the basket against Moanalua. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Moanalua's Antoine Hines takes the ball to the basket against Roosevelt. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Wed, Jan 15, 2014 @ Moanalua

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Roosevelt

47

Moanalua

50

Final	1	2	3	4
Roosevelt (8-6, 8-10)	14	11	5	17	47
Moanalua (10-5, 17-12)	12	15	12	11	50

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

A. Hines 15 pts  3/4 FTs

V. Inaura 10 pts  4/6 FTs

K. Cruz 10 tot  2 off  8 def

K. Foster 5 tot  5 def

A. Hines 3 ast

J. Kawasaki 3 ast

SALT LAKE – Moanalua dominated the paint en route to a 50-47 victory over visiting Roosevelt Wednesday night.

The Menehunes, ranked No. 8 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, improved their record to 4-1 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division. Roosevelt falls to 2-3 in league play. 

“Every game is such a battle, the Red East is so competitive,” said Moanalua coach Byron Mello. “It’s just so competitive night in and night out so it was a huge win for us to say the least.”

Leading the way for Moanalua was senior Antoine Hines, with a game-high 15 points – 10 coming in the second half – on 60 percent shooting. Hines also filled the stat sheet, registering seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

“Aaron (Stuart) got in foul trouble and Jamaal (Willis) was on the bench a little bit so I knew I had to be the guy to step up and just try to make the plays out there,” said Hines after the game. 

Moanalua protected the paint well, coming away with six total blocked shots. The Menehunes also controlled the glass, outrebounding Roosevelt 37-28. Spearheading the rebounding effort Moanalua’s rebounding effort was junior center Karson Cruz with 10 boards.

“Karson give us opportunities to get out and run,” Mello said on Cruz. “He gives us a defensive presence around the basket. He’s so quick off the ground. He fights and he has a good sense of where the ball is. In order for us to get up and down (the court), we got to rebound. If he’s having a good night getting the ball off the boards, then we’re able to kick it out and get in the open court. When we do that we’re tough; I like our chances.” 

After a big third quarter, the Menehunes held a 39-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Moanalua continued to nurse their lead, even going up by as much as 11 points with 4:47 remaining in regulation. It seemed like the home team could just coast to a win at this point, but the Rough Riders launched a valiant rally.

Seven seconds after Moanalua went up by double digits, Roosevelt’s Valen Inaura quickly got to the line and knocked down two free throws, cutting the lead to nine points. This was the starting point of a 9-4 Roosevelt run, which made it a two-possession game with 2:37 remaining in regulation. 

Roosevelt suffered a big blow when starting point guard Jake Kawasaki fouled out with 1:56 left on the clock. The Rough Riders eventually whittled the lead to two points, but they spent over 25 seconds to do so. Roosevelt’s Mick Colling knocked in four straight free throws in the last minute to make things interesting with 9.7 remaining, but a corner three at the buzzer fell short and the Menehunes were able to come away with the win. 

“Coach always tells us to control (ourselves) so that’s what we try to do. We just try not to get down and just keep our heads up. When we play our game we’re hard to beat. We were having trouble stopping them all night, but late in the fourth quarter we got the stops we needed,” Hines said on holding off Roosevelt. 

The Rough Riders paced the Menehunes in the first quarter, going up by two points on a Josh Alexandre put back at the buzzer. Roosevelt played mistake free in the first quarter, never giving the ball away on a turnover.

Moanalua turned up their defensive intensity after the first quarter, forcing the visitors to commit six turnovers in the second quarter. This culminated with the Menehunes taking a two-point lead at the half.

“I think we just started pressuring them a little bit more,” Hines said on their defensive adjustment. “We started getting up (more) and just gap protecting and making it hard for them to get to the basket, and I think that contribute to a lot of (their) turnovers.” 

Providing quality minutes in the first half for the home team was Aaron Stuart. The senior forward converted on all of his six first half shot attempts, giving him 13 points after the first two quarters of play.

“When he’s staying in the moment and focused, he does some really good thing out there,” Mello said on Stuart. “He got off to a great start tonight. He can score and we need him to rebound and defend.” 

“He’s a great player; he really runs the floor,” added Hines. “He gives us a lot of energy and he’s a captain of the team. He really stepped up tonight early when we were a little iffy.”

Roosevelt will play host to Kaiser while the Menehunes go on the road to take on Kahuku in their next game. Both matchups take place on Friday, Jan. 17.

“I’m proud of our team tonight,” Hines said on the win. “We battled al night and it was a good earned win. That’s a good team. Every night is hard in the OIA so it’s just great to get a win.”