OIA Boys Basketball
Stribling's putback rescues Kapolei in road win over Aiea


  



Thu, Jan 2, 2020 @ Aiea


Final 1 2 3 4  
Kapolei (8-6, 13-9) 16 19151060
Aiea (3-7, 10-12) 7 23 12 1759
N. Okamoto 16 pts  6/6 FTs
D. Stribling 18 pts  2 3pm  0/1 FTs

A relentless comeback attempt by the home team did not stop De'Zhaun Stribling from delivering the dagger.

The Kapolei senior's putback at the buzzer helped the visiting Hurricanes deny Aiea in a 60-59 win in an OIA West contest Thursday night.

Stribling led all scorers with 18 points and two made 3-pointers to lead Kapolei to its first win of the regular season.

The Hurricanes (1-1 league) led by as many as 15 points - 28 to 13 - in the second quarter, but Na Alii rallied to make it a 35-30 game at the half thanks to a pair of late triples by Braeden Fujimoto and Kamaka Seto in the period.

Fujimoto also had a buzzer-beating trey to end the third quarter to keep Aiea within striking distance down 50-42 to start the final period of play.

Na Alii (0-2) then started to pick up the pace after a Jayden Tabudlo basket and another 3-pointer by Fujimoto that cut the Hurricanes' lead to three with 7:06 remaining in regulation.

A number of missed free throws prevented Kapolei from pulling away and Aiea was able to capitalize. A transition basket by Seto made it a 58-55 game with 2:10 to play. He followed that up with a steal, bucket and the foul to bring Na Alii within one point with 1:20 remaining.

Seto could not complete the three-point play to tie the game, but Na Alii managed to take the lead with 33.7 on the clock after Tabudlo got past a Kapolei defender near the top of the key. Tabudlo was fouled on the basket, but could not complete the free throw which left the score at 59-58.

Aiea's Jayden Tabudlo got around Kapolei's Tyler Jordan to give Na Alii a 59-58 lead with under a minute remaining in regulation. Michael Lasquero | SL    Purchase image

The Hurricanes called timeout after the play, and called timeout again with 6.4 on the clock after good defense by Na Alii. Ethan Wright took a shot near the left baseline that was well-defended, but Stribling was able to corral the rebound - even from one of his own teammates - to make his only basket of the fourth quarter the most important one of the game.

Wright was the second-leading scorer for the Hurricanes with 10 points. Bryce Mesa was solid off the bench with nine points.

Kapolei as a whole shot 11-for-28 from the free throw line.

Nathaniel Okamoto led four Aiea players in double figures with 16 points. Tabudlo was the next best with 12 points off the bench to give Aiea a much-needed presence down low.

Seto had 11 points while Fujimoto knocked down four jumpers - three triples - and finished with 11 points as well.



Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


IMAGE GALLERY



MORE STORIES

No. 1 seeds Aiea, Kailua to face off for OIA Division I baseball crown

Na Alii posted a 3-1 win over Roosevelt behind Aidan Yoshida's complete game, while two pitchers combined...

Sabers, Na Menehune to meet in OIA semifinal round Monday

Campbell defeated Roosevelt in four sets Thursday, while Moanalua topped Waipahu in the nightcap as both...

Late surge propels Kapolei to mercy-rule win over Kalani

The Hurricanes found their offensive groove in the late stages, scoring 14 runs down the stretch to back...

Kapaa takes down Kauai for second straight league win

Bob Manintin pitched six strong innings as the Warriors snapped the Red Raiders' seven-game winning streak.

Waianae holds off Castle; Mililani next

Teizsha Kaopuiki hit two home runs to power the Seariders in the opening round of the OIA Division I...

Surfriders erase early deficit, pull away from Falcons

Ninth-ranked Kailua scored 10 unanswered runs behind six scoreless innings of relief from DJ Kauahi to...