KAPA’A — Things got a little hairy for the Waimea Menehune in the waning minutes of the third quarter as Kapa’a launched a series of five shots that were answered by only two from Waimea. The Menehune went flat –
KAPA’A — Things got a little hairy for the Waimea Menehune in the waning minutes of the third quarter as Kapa’a launched a series of five shots that were answered by only two from Waimea.
The Menehune went flat – an Adam A’ana bucket answered by a salvo of Kapa’a shots that ended with the contest deadlocked 35-35 as Kaylan Dolor launched a trey at the 3:36 mark.
Flustered, the Menehune scrambled to stay afloat, and on the other side of the coin, the Warriors battled feverishly to take the lead at the 1:55 mark.
Chad Barba, the youngest KIF hoopster, pulled Waimea ahead on a charity pair at the 14-second mark only to have Kapa’a’s Ta’ufo’ou Amini capitalize on a Waimea inbound infraction, capping the play with a soft touch underneath to send the contest into overtime 39-39.
Akeem Allen scored his only field goal in that OT only to have Kapa’a come back to erase a 5-point deficit behind buckets from Greg Ragsac and Leonel Calvan.
But, chasing that elusive digit can have its drawbacks as Kapa’a sent Jeremy Manuel to the free throw line for a pair that iced the win, 46-43 as a second Amini fade-away came up empty at the buzzer.
Manuel and Lanikai Kanahele topped the Waimea scoring with 13 apiece, Kanahele pulling in numerous rebounds along the way.
Cram went the distance for Kapa’a Friday night and finished with a game-high 19 points in the effort, Amini adding eight, and Dolor finishing with seven, including a critical trey in the fourth quarter to tie the game, 35-35.
Brandon McDaniels scored a game-high 21 points for Waimea JV, but the effort fell short as three Kapa’a JV hit double digits in their 54-42 win.
Kesmon Jaramillo led Kapa’a with 15 points followed by Junnel Calpito and Mike Lindsey each adding 14 and 13 points respectively.
