Ehu Schenk-Lee (1) puts up a shot in traffic and finished with 22 points to help the Mustangs remain unbeaten in OIA play. Brandon Ching | SL

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Wed, Jan 12, 2022 @ McKinley

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Kalaheo

43

McKinley

41

Final	1	2	3	4
Kalaheo (7-7, 7-12)	7	13	10	13	43
McKinley (3-8, 3-8)	9	10	10	12	41

I. Venzon 14 pts  4/7 FTs

E. Schenk-Lee 22 pts  4 3pm  6/6 FTs

KAKAAKO—It wasn't pretty, but Kalaheo found a way to win.

The Mustangs trailed for most of the fourth quarter and rallied in the end to beat McKinley, 43-41, in an Oahu Interscholastic Association East contest at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium Wednesday night.

Ehu Schenk-Lee led all scorers with 22 points and hit four triples and hit two critical free throws to put Kalaheo (2-0) up four with 10.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

"He's the sophomore that got minutes two years ago and took a year off last year due to COVID. He's a strong leader and can score in any possession," Kalaheo coach Rob Pardini said of Schenk-Lee.

Ian Venzon led the Tigers (0-2) with 14 points and grabbed his own miss and reversed it in with 1.8 seconds left on the clock to bring McKinley within two.

Isiah Akiu's inbounds pass intended for Schenk-Lee went out of bounds giving McKinley an opportunity to tie or win the game. Aaron Rutledge inbounded from the baseline to Michael Papa (eight points), who had an open look from the left wing 3-point line, but it went over the rim and was no good.

"There were jitters going through everyone. First time we were in that experience. It was sloppy, but I'm sure we'll clean it up," Schenk-Lee said of the final possessions.

"It was about getting easy buckets and getting stops. We have to focus on boxing out. We had a tough time with that tonight," Pardini said.

The game opened up with McKinley shooting technical free throws after a Kalaheo player dunked during pregame warmups. The Tigers would take a 9-7 lead going into the second quarter.

Anthony Hoang opened up the second quarter with a 3-pointer for McKinley and they held a three-point lead for most of the quarter. The Tigers went up by as much as six after a putback from Jaevean Velasco, who scored eight of his 12 points in the first half.

The Mustangs mounted a rally after Pierce O'Brien converted a three-point play opportunity and Schenk-Lee banked a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to go into halftime with a 20-19 lead.

"We realized their zone was denying more of the middle. Our jump shots were wide open and I was able to hit shots. That's how we came back, me hitting my shots," Schenk-Lee said.

"Those were key buckets. Biggest momentum shifts going into halftime. That's a tough defense to play against when you don't get a lot of preseason games," Pardini said.

Venzon scored six points off turnovers during McKinley's 8-0 run to open the third quarter as the Tigers went up by as much as seven.

Arie Eaton sparked a rally with a field goal and Schenk-Lee followed up with a pair of free throws and added a floater to bring Kalaheo within one, 29-28.

Schenk-Lee dribbled down the clock and rifled a pass to Gabe Chang on the right block and he was fouled as he made the basket to put the Mustangs ahead 30-29 going into the fourth quarter.

"My boy Gabe, he helped me out taking care of the ball and I depend on him," Schenk-Lee said.

"It's about the effort the boys want to put in on the defensive end and they can get extra possessions by getting stops. When that happens, we can get the momentum going. Sometimes we turn it over and things go in the other direction," Pardini said of what attributed to their late quarter rallies.

Schenk-Lee splashed another 3 to pad the lead to four, until Venzon hit back-to-back baskets and Velasco gave the Tigers the lead, 35-33 off Venzon's assist.

He brought Kalaheo within one twice off a 3-pointer and free throws.

The Tigers converted 50 percent of their free throws, shooting 8 for 16 for the game while the Mustangs shot 8 for 14 (57.1 percent) from the charity stripe.

Kalaheo took advantage of missed one-and-one free throws attempts and Eaton's go-ahead runner with over a minute left gave the Mustangs the lead for good.

Kalaheo looks to continue its winning streak with a home game against Kaimuki on Friday, Jan. 14 while McKinley looks to rebound as it hosts Kahuku on the same night.