Warriors keep game interesting with late blunders KAPA’A — They wrinkled their foreheads, rubbed their reddened faces and pushed sweaty strands of hair from their brows. These were the parents of the Kapa’a Warriors, Friday night, in the waning moments
Warriors keep game interesting with late blunders
KAPA’A — They wrinkled their foreheads, rubbed their reddened faces and pushed sweaty strands of hair from their brows.
These were the parents of the Kapa’a Warriors, Friday night, in the waning moments of their sons’ game against Waimea.
As the buzzer sounded smiles returned to those faces, but the raised eyebrows said blood pressure remained high.
That’s because the Warriors made certain there was nothing easy about their 50-44 Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation win. Kapa’a’s victory prevented Waimea from winning the second round — for a night — and was its first victory since January 16.
As time ticked away in the fourth quarter so did Kapa’a’s 11-point lead. The Warriors committed turnovers, took errant shots and missed free throws. But for the most part it stuck together as a team, preventing a Menehune comeback.
“We’ve had a rough period,” said Kapa’a coach Michael Ban, drenched in emotion. “I’ve felt like the fire chief, putting out fires all over the place.
“But tonight, I felt like we played as a team for the first time in a while and played focused.”
Which was exactly the opposite of how Menehunes coach Matt Taba felt.
“We didn’t come out ready to play at all,” the coach said. “We couldn’t make lay-ups or free throws. We missed shots and let Kapa’a’s energy take us completely out of our game.”
Waimea made just 19-of-58 shots 33 percent).
“It’s tough to win when you shoot like that,” Taba said.
Meanwhile, the Warriors found success with both the inside and outside game, spreading a Waimea defense that shut down Kaua’i last Tuesday.
Waimea jumped out to a 9-5 lead midway through the first quarter. Kapa’a then scored eight in a row, pounding the ball inside and penetrating through the Waimea defense at will. The Warriors built their lead to 10 by the end of the first half and 11 after three quarters.
The Menehunes made a ferocious run in the final frame, cutting Kapa’a’s lead to three once and four another time, but the Warriors held on.
Waimea will get another chance to claim the second round when it hosts Kaua’i next Friday at 7:15 p.m.
Kapu Hendricksen led the Warriors with nine points. Rhyan Greenleaf added eight and Kekoa Chun scored six. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Keola Karratti led Waimea with 10 points and 10 rebounds, the KIF’s first double-double this season. Winnie Arios scored nine for the Menehunes.
Waimea won the JV game 58-31.
TGI sports editor Jason Gallic at 245-3681 or mailto:kauaisports@pulitzer.net
