CJ Caraang | SL

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Fri, Dec 4, 2015 @ Radford

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Honokaa

55

Moanalua

61

Final	1	2	3	4
Honokaa (8-5, 13-11)	13	5	16	21	55
Moanalua (8-6, 13-14)	10	18	12	21	61

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

J. Wilkins 19 pts  3/6 FTs

K. Datuin 10 pts  4/6 FTs

J. Wilkins 11 tot  4 off  7 def

K. Datuin 6 tot  1 off  5 def

R. Kealohi 3 ast

J. Charbonneau 3 ast

ALIAMANU — Moanalua shook off a slow start to top Honokaa, 61-55, on the third day of the 17th annual James Alegre Basketball Invitational at Radford high school Friday night.

Na Menehune had trouble with the Dragons' full court press to start the game and committed five early turnovers and quickly fell behind 11-0 midway through the first quarter. Moanalua was able to make an adjustment after a timeout and overcame the early deficit to notch its first win in the tourney.

"We got back to our bread-and-butter which is tough half court man defense," said Moanalua coach Byron Mello. "I really liked how we kept our poise. We didn't get flustered and that's a step forward for us."

Moanalua was coming off a 66-51 loss to Punahou on Thursday. Mello said the Buffanblu's press helped his squad overcome Honokaa's pressure.

"We made some adjustment in our walkthrough today because Punahou gave us fits with their press," he said. "I was actually pleased with the adjustments that we made. Being that the kids just walked through something a few times, I thought the kids did a real good job. For the most part we didn't panic and I thought we made some really good decisions. When we got the ball in the middle, we would attack."

Senior James Wilkins played a big role in limiting Honokaa's pressure. The 6-foot-2 forward sped behind the Dragons' defense and was the beneficiary of a handful of long passes. He finished with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, both game-highs, to lead Na Menehune in the win.

"Coaches put me in the middle of the floor, told me to attack and I got the ball," said Wilkins.

Moanalua also got a solid performance from reserve post Sage Pulu, who poured in 18 points and eight rebounds. The 6-foot-2 sophomore also had four blocked shots to lead Na Menehune's interior defense.

"He's an energy bug and he's one of the best players on our team." Wilkins said on Pulu.

The combination of Wilkins, Pulu and Devin Leslie helped Na Menehune win the rebounding battle, 37 to 25. Moanalua was also efficient around the key, shooting at a 53.8 percent clip from 2-point range.

"We want to do everything inside out," said Mello. "We got guys that can score in the paint and be tough around the basket. I think we're still kind of getting comfortable with each other, but it's coming. I like the direction that it's headed."

Although his team came up on the losing end, Honokaa coach Jayme Carvalho believes the experience against bigger teams will be invaluable down the stretch. Honokaa, who hails from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, was playing in its sixth game in four days on Oahu. The Dragons will face Mililani at 5 p.m. on the final day of the invitational Saturday.

"We got to put a body on guys and not giving up second chance opportunities," said Carvalho. "The size is bigger here and we cannot star gaze. We have to go find our man and have the guards get the ball sometimes. We're going to work on rebounding and pushing the ball up the court."

Honokaa built an early 11-0 lead thanks to a hot start from the field, 4-for-8 shooting, but missed its next 16 shot attempts after Moanalua called timeout. It wasn't until the 1:47 mark of the second quarter when the Dragons made their next field goal. By then Moanalua had already taken a double-digit lead and held a 28-18 advantage at the break.

"When I made some substitutions, people never listen to directions," said Carvalho. "I told them about concentration. You cannot worry about just getting into the game, you have to worry about the game plan.

"With the new rules emphasizing the hand check, I felt that we should have attacked more and put the pressure on the referee to make the call, and we didn't do that for a bit. We settled for jump shots and we gave up long rebounds and easy baskets to them."

Despite blowing a double-digit lead, the Dragons never quit and made things interesting in the second half. 

Honokaa once trailed by 13 in the third quarter, but cut the deficit to six heading into the fourth quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating corner trey by Kevin Falk. Even when the Dragons gave up a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to trail by 15, they still found a way to make it a three-point game with 1:07 left in regulation.

"I'm real proud of the boys for sticking together, the guys in the game and on the bench," said Carvalho. "They stuck together and kept trying to find a way to get back into the game to give us an opportunity."

Kysen Datuin led the Dragons in the loss with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Moanalua will play its final game of the tourney when it takes on Saint Louis Saturday night.