Mililani trailed the first three quarters before rallying in the fourth remain undefeated in OIA West play. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Sat, Jan 26, 2019 @ Mililani

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Leilehua

41

Mililani

43

Final	1	2	3	4
Leilehua (8-3, 14-12)	10	19	7	5	41
Mililani (10-3, 13-10)	8	15	11	9	43

E. Rudometkin 11 pts  3/3 FTs

L. Lasell 18 pts  4 3pm  2/2 FTs

MILILANI — Mililani rallied in the fourth quarter to top Leilehua, 43-41, in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I West showdown on the Trojans' home floor Saturday.

The Trojans improved to 8-0 to sit on top the West standings as they handed the Mules (8-1) their first league loss.

"I'm proud of the boys. Twelve second-half points and locked down when we had to. We told them we'll always be in games if we take care of business, play smart and not turn it over," Mililani coach Garrett Gabriel said.

Ethan Rudometkin and Dayvon Appleby each scored 11 points in the win.

"We told Dayvon to be a force in the middle and change and alter shots when they're penetrating. He did a great job. All of them in terms of team defense, they stepped up when we needed to," Gabriel said.

"He's the most valuable and I say that with all due respect to my players," Gabriel said of Rudometkin. "He causes mismatches whether it's rebounding, posting up and passing the ball. He causes problems for other teams and it opens up for other guys."

After Appleby split a pair of free throws to make it 43-41, the Mules got the ball back with 16.7 seconds for the final shot. Leilehua dribbled it around before Raymond Moore caught the ball at the free-throw line, drove to the hoop and tried to get a shot up between Appleby and Rudometkin. Rudometkin knocked the shot attempt out of bounds with no time remaining.

"That one was not by design, that was a broken play. Mililani did a great job and flustered us," Leilehua coach Chad Townsend said of the final possession.

Leilehua created separation in the second quarter after Logan Lasell caught fire to score 13 of the team's 19 points. Lasell made four 3's in the game and made the Mules' only free throws. He finished with a game-high 18 points but was held in check with two points in the second half.

"He's been coming off an injury and we're moving him along slowly. He plays off of the offense we run," Townsend said.

"He was solid. We knew he was a good player and we had to get out and guard him," Gabriel said of Lasell.

Mililani got within four before Leilehua went on a 6-0 run capped by Moore's steal and a transition layup by RJ Olivas (10 points) to go up 10, 29-19. Rudometkin scored seven points and made the Trojans' only field goals, but the rest of the team shot 8 of 11 from the free-throw line to trail, 29-23, at halftime.

"We struggled offensively in the first half. We tried to motion and get some movement. Our defense kept us in there. We were down six at the half and we were pleased because we knew we haven't run any type of offense," Gabriel said.

The Trojans trailed by six early in the third quarter but cut it to two following Trey Lieb's layup. The Mules managed to go back up by five after Lasell's layup off a steal. Jace Patsel swished a 3-pointer from the right corner and Mililani trailed, 36-34, going into the fourth quarter.

Mililani outscored Leilehua in the second half, 20 to 12. The Trojans shot 15 of 20 (75 percent) from the free-throw line.

"(Mililani) picked up the intensity. Our guys had some shots they normally don't pass up. We pump faked a little too much. We give the freedom to shoot. We passed up some shots we shouldn't have," Townsend said.

Leilehua led for the first three quarters until Mililani climbed back into the game after Lieb made a 3-pointer from the left wing to trail, 38-37. Rudometkin made both one-and-one free throws to give Mililani its first lead since the first quarter. Zachary Gagnon had the Mules' field goal until Olivas hit a 3-pointer to trail, 42-41.

"I think there was a change in momentum. Our home crowd got into and it fired up the boys. It's always a big game and the boys were looking forward to it. Leilehua, credit them, they are a tough team. We try to control the tempo against a team like that," Gabriel said.

Leilehua closes out the regular season against unbeaten Kapolei on Jan. 31. Mililani will play the Hurricanes two days prior on Jan. 29 and closes out its regular season against Campbell on Jan. 31.

"We have to close out strong. We still have to play for seeding," Townsend said.

"Kapolei has been the West champs for the past couple years and it goes through them so we know we have a challenge ahead and they are a darn good team," Gabriel said.