OIA Boys Basketball
Farrington denies Kalani to claim league D2 crown


  



Wed, Feb 1, 2023 @ Radford


F/OT 1 2 3 4 OT  
Farrington (5-8, 5-12) 7 317162568
Kalani (3-7, 7-12) 14 12 10 71255
J. Schutter 16 pts  3 3pm  7/10 FTs
G. Gallardo 17 pts  2 3pm  7/9 FTs
K. Bogle-Dupuis 9 tot  4 off  5 def
D. Mose Smith 15 tot  4 off  11 def
C. Lam 5 ast

ALIAMANU — Dominique Mose-Smith scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lift Farrington to its first league championship with a 68-55 win over Kalani Wednesday night. 

The Governors rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to improve to 5-8 in capturing their seventh Oahu Interscholastic Association title before a crowd of about 500 fans at Radford's Jim Alegre Gymnasium. 

Mose-Smith tallied a double-double with 15 rebounds. He shot 4 of 7 from the field, but was 7 of 9 from the free-throw line, including 6 of 7 from the stripe in the final 12 minutes. 

"We needed him," Farrington coach Steven Leopoldo said. "I told him just relax, don't get frustrated. It looked like he was frustrated underneath, so I just told him, ‘You gotta play big. Open up, play big. Ball's gonna come.'"

It is Farrington's third OIA title in Division II and second under coach Steven Leopoldo, but it didn't seem very likely after a 10-point first half. 

"Just keep battling," Leopoldo disclosed of his halftime address to his squad. 

"Even though we were down 16 (points), I told them ‘zero-zero,' that's it and we work from there, but one possession at a time and if we establish one possession, get the ball inside. Just keep getting the ball inside, we can get these shots outside and fortunately we hit some big 3s at the start of the (third) quarter and that's what started the rally."

After it was only 3-of-19 shooting in the first half — including an abysmal 0-for-11 second quarter — the Govs caught fire quickly out of halftime. 

Gerald Gallardo and Chansen Smith hit 3-pointers on back-to-back Farrington possession to start the second half. It was part of a 10-0 run for the Govs. They chipped away to within 36-27 after three quarters and used a 9-0 run that was capped by a Smith three-point play to pull to 39-35. 

Farrington took its first lead, 41-40, with 44 seconds left in regulation after Mose-Smith muscled his way into the paint for a bucket. Josh Schutter made a couple of free throws to put Kalani back ahead by a point with 28 seconds left, but Mose-Smith returned the favor with only 12 seconds remaining. However, the score was tied at 43 after Joaquin Manaligod converted the second of two free throws with 4.6 ticks left. 

A desperation heave by the Govs at the buzzer was no good and sent the game beyond regulation. 

It was all Farrington in overtime. 

The Govs scored the first 12 points in OT and went on to score 25 points in the four-minute extra period. Mose-Smith had seven points in overtime, as did Ernest Rodriguez. 

Gallardo scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He also had two blocks and a steal, while Rodriguez finished with 13 points, four boards, four assists and three steals. Smith totaled 11 points off the bench. 

It is Farrington's third OIA title in Division II. 

"Wonderful for the program, for the kids in Kalihi. It's all for the kids and thank God I get to coach these kids and give back to them," Leopoldo said. 

The Govs (5-8) were seeded second out of the East behind the Falcons (4-8). 

Farrington beat West third seed Pearl City, 64-52, in the first round of the tournament, then topped West No. 1 seed Aiea, 65-46 in Thursday's semifinals. 

Kalani had a first-round bye, then beat West second seed Waialua, 71-54, en route to Wednesday's title game. 

The Falcons were seeking their third OIA championship. 

Both teams have qualified for next week's Heide & Cook/HHSAA D2 State Championships. 



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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