Kupaa Harrison takes it strong to the hoop as Kalaheo passes McKinley at home. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Tue, Jan 13, 2015 @ Kalaheo

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McKinley

38

Kalaheo

62

Final	1	2	3	4
McKinley (5-6, 13-12)	7	15	6	10	38
Kalaheo (13-1, 31-3)	11	17	16	18	62

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

K. Gilmore 21 pts  5/8 FTs

D. Villejo 11 pts  1 3pm  0/4 FTs

K. Harrison 6 tot  1 off  5 def

D. Villejo 6 tot  6 def

K. Gilmore 4 ast

D. Villejo 4 ast

KAILUA – Although the 3-ball wasn't working, everything else was for the top-ranked Mustangs. 

Strong on-ball pressure and a productive inside game was key in Kalaheo's 68-32 victory over visiting McKinley Tuesday night at Pete Smith Court. The Mustangs, who debuted at No. 1 in the latest ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings earlier this week, improved to 4-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association East standings while McKinley dropped to 2-2.

Kalaheo forced the Tigers into committing 30 turnovers in the contest.

"We've been playing a lot better defense since the Punahou tournament. I think the players take it upon themselves in practice; there's a lot more intensity (there). The way you practice is the way you're going to play," said Kalaheo coach Alika Smith. "We got into some foul trouble, but we wanted to pressure them a little bit more, get them uncomfortable and it worked here and there." 

The Mustangs led by just six at the break, but used a 16-6 third quarter scoring advantage to take full control of the game in the second half. Many of McKinley's turnovers in the period were of the live-ball variety and Kalaheo was able to take advantage. 

"In the beginning we were kind of sluggish. We weren't really awake, didn't come ready to play. In the second half we picked it up more and forced fast break opportunities," said Kalaheo guard Kaleb Gilmore who finished with a game-high 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting. He also notched four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Gilmore's defense was felt early on and others fed off of it as the game went on. Reserve Captain Whitlock finished with a team-high five steals and guards Kekai Smith and Alec MacLeod each had two. 

Despite being unable to convert from beyond the arc (0-for-14 shooting), Kalaheo shot an extremely high rate from 2-point range (23-for-33 shooting from within the arc). 

Spearheading the effort down low was senior forward Kupaa Harrison who posted 16 points and six rebounds. Harrison showed his offensive skill set with a plethora of moves on the block and the baseline. 

"We call him a crafty old veteran. He's been with us for three years," coach Smith said on Harrision. "He just knows how to use his body – how to use his hands around the rim. He's just smart. He uses both hands equally down there so it's hard to guard him. Once we got it to him in there and he did his stuff in the second half, everyone else played off of it – and when we do that, we're a much better team."

MacLeod, who picked up his fourth foul with 4:25 to play in the third quarter, scored six points in the waning minutes of the fourth to round out Kalaheo's double-figure scorers with 10.

Leading the Tigers in the loss was Dan Villejo with 11 points, six boards and four assists.

McKinley held an early 5-2 lead in the first quarter thanks to five points from Macjun Otarra, Kalaheo would then score nine straight points before Villejo knocked in his first basket before the end of the quarter.