Hawaii Baptist's BJ Hosaka drives to the basket against Damien. Hosaka scored 12 points in the win. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Fri, Jan 30, 2015 @ Damien

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Hawaii Baptist

47

Damien

45

Final	1	2	3	4
Hawaii Baptist (18-9, 18-9)	14	12	11	10	47
Damien (19-9, 19-9)	13	12	12	8	45

SEASON LEADERS

Kapiina King 13.2 ppg  2 3pm  62.0 FT%

BJ Hosaka 21.5 ppg  34 3pm  83.5 FT%

In a back-and-forth game that would go down to the wire, it was the Eagles that finished on top.

Isaac Liva and BJ Hosaka each scored 12 points apiece to help Hawaii Baptist outlast host Damien, 47-45 in a pivotal Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II game Friday night. The Eagles improve to 6-2 in league play while Damien dropped to 6-3. 

"All season long our guys have figured out ways to win basketball games and come back. The boys just have so much heart. It doesn't always go our way, but they've been in situations like this so many times that they know what to expect," said Hawaii Baptist coach George Weeks. 

Liva was a dominant force in the paint, racking up 13 rebounds and five blocks to register a double-double performance. He also added four steals and had no turnovers. 

"He's a beast," Damien coach Alvin Stephenson said on Liva. "His rebounding and physicality really, really hurt us. He's a big kid." 

While Liva set the tone early, Hosaka did most of his work in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of the team's 10 points in the period. Although his 12 points were a season low, Hosaka's presence on the court was invaluable for the rest of the team. 

"For BJ, the points obviously help – but I think the thing about BJ tonight was his leadership and his ability to keep his head and stay composed through adversity," Weeks said on Hosaka. "He just makes good basketball plays. It's not always the points for him, it's the intangibles he brings to the team."

In a tightly contested game like this, the outcome ultimately came down to two basic basketball principles: free throw shooting and ball security. Hawaii Baptist was 9-for-12 at the line while Damien was 4-for-10. The Monarchs also turned the ball over seven more times than the Eagles.

It is also worth noting that Damien was dealing with injuries to seniors Rocky Mori and Ezekiel Naum, and had to play a lot of young back-ups on the team. 

The biggest sign of this came in the final moments of the game when freshman guard Kolin Galdiano was fouled on a 3-point attempt with the Monarchs trailing 47-44 with under two seconds remaining in regulation. Galdiano missed the first two attempts and Hawaii Baptist was able to escape with the win. 

Kapiina King led the Monarchs in the loss with a game-high 14 points and 13 rebounds.

The tempo of the game was set from the opening period. There were a total of 10 lead changes and four ties in the first quarter alone. Liva's three-point play at the end of the first gave Hawaii Baptist a 14-13 lead heading into the second quarter.

Hawaii Baptist used a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter to take its largest of the game, 24-16, prompting a Damien timeout. The Monarchs would close out the first half with a 9-2 run to make the score 26-25 at halftime. 

Damien regained the lead at the start of the third quarter with Ernie Kornya's corner trey, and led by as many as five in the period. However, a 5-0 run to end the quarter by Hawaii Baptist made the score 37-all after three quarters of play. 

The Eagles take the court next against Saint Francis while Damien hosts University High. Both games are slated for next Wednesday. 

"We played a tough game tonight. Damien played tough. "We're lucky to pull it out and now we're on to the next one," said Weeks.