OIA Boys Basketball
Moanalua outlasts Kailua in OT to win OIA crown


Michael Lasquero | ScoringLive
February 13, 2019, 10:56pm

  

Wed, Feb 13, 2019 @ McKinley

Moanalua

56

Kailua

49

F/OT 1 2 3 4 OT  
Moanalua (13-1, 21-8) 8 151481156
Kailua (10-4, 20-14) 12 12 12 9449
Everett Torres-Kahapea 20 pts  2 3pm  2/2 FTs
Isaiah Sugiura 15 pts  2 3pm  3/4 FTs
Isaiah Hopson 10 tot  6 off  4 def
Elijah McGruder 10 tot  7 off  3 def


No. 8 Kailua had the early advantage, but No. 6 Moanalua clutched up down the stretch to win the chip.

Na Menehune pulled away in overtime to capture their sixth OIA title title with a 56-49 win over the Surfriders in the league's Division I final Wednesday night at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.

Moanalua (20-6 overall, 13-1 OIA) used a balanced effort in its first league championship win since 2011. Isaiah Sugiura scored 15 points, DiAeris McRaven had 12 points with nine rebounds, Geremy Robinson added 12 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists and Elijah McGruder chipped in nine points with 10 rebounds to power Na Menehune in their 13th straight win.

"It's great, especially to win it after all these years. To win it with this team, my brothers, there's no better feeling. I wouldn't want to win it with any other team," said Robinson.

Na Menehune trailed by as many as six points in the first half, but timely steals and deflections helped them make it a one-possession game at the break.

It also helped Moanalua pull away in the OT period. Robinson made two free throws after initiating the break with a steal to give Na Menehune a 51-47 lead with 1:04 to go in the extra stanza. In total Moanalua forced 12 turnovers and recorded nine steals in the victory.

"We're at our best when our defense is generating offense for us," said Moanalua coach Byron Mello. "If we're not doing that, we tend to be a little bit flat."

If the game had ended in regulation, it would have been Kailua that came away with the victory. The Surfriders (18-12, 10-4), who were seeking their fifth OIA crown, had possession of the ball for the final 1:23 of the fourth quarter after McGruder split a pair at the line to leave the score at 45-all.

After biding some time, Kailua called a 60-second timeout with 45.2 remaining. The Surfriders dribbled the ball even more out of the timeout and tried to get a look, but had to call another timeout with 8.1 showing on the clock.

Whatever Kailua drew up in its timeout was sniffed up immediately as the Surfriders nearly turned it over near half court with 2.4 remaining. After a third timeout on the same possession, Everett Torres-Kahapea's half court heave at the buzzer was wide right and the game went into OT.

"Our goal was to take the last shot, we just didn't get the ball in Everett's hands early enough," said Kailua coach Wally Marciel.

After defending the final 83 seconds of regulation, Moanalua was fired up to possess the ball in the extra period. McRaven took it strong into the paint for the first basket of OT and Robinson's strong take from the right side gave Moanalua a 49-45 lead with 2:42 to play.

"Once we hit overtime, we just knew we could take home the championship," said McRaven, who added two blocked shots. "Momentum was already on our side in the beginning of OT."

After Kailua failed to score when two Robinson free throws made it 51-47, Robinson came down the court and found McRaven open for a two-handed flush. Torres-Kahapea nailed a fadeaway shot to cut the deficit to four with 25 seconds remaining, but Moanalua was able to make the necessary free throws to seal the deal.

"When you're in overtime and you're playing against them, every possession is important. You have to hit every shot and we just didn't," said Marciel.

Torres-Kahapea finished with a game-high 20 points and Isaiah Hopson added a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. The duo carried the Surfriders in regulation, but it wasn't at a consistent enough rate to give Kailua its first league crown since 2013.

Torres-Kahapea made two 3-pointers in the third quarter to give the Surfriders leads of 31-30 and 36-35, but otherwise shot 2-for-10 from distance. After a strong first half with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting, Hopson was limited to a single 3-point basket after the break.

It was the two teams' second meeting of the season. Moanalua outscored Kailua by 20 in the fourth quarter to win 78-54 on Jan. 26.

Both teams already clinched berths into next week's Snapple Boys Basketball Championships. Kailua will host Kalaheo next Monday at 6:00 p.m. while Moanalua will take on the winner between Hilo and Iolani on Thursday.


Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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