KAPA‘A — The Kapa‘a High Warriors capitalized on untimely Kaua‘i High turnovers, and blistered at the free-throw line on Tuesday to hold off the Red Raiders, 67-60, before a nearly full house at Bernice Hundley Gym.
Fans were treated to a very competitive, physical contest where two of the four quarters finished with tied scores, and the lead margin by either side stayed within five points through 32 minutes of battle on the hardwood.
Trailing 14-13 as the clocked ticked down, Kaua‘i High’s Hans Leo Carlos was fouled at the buzzer, marking the end of the first quarter, sending the Red Raider for a charity pair. Carlos dropped the tail end of the pair to force a 14-14 stalemate at the close of eight minutes of play.
Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a battled through the second quarter, with the Raiders emerging with a two-point lead, 34-32 at the half, fueled in part by three treys launched by Red Raider Bryan Brown, who finished the night leading the Raiders’ scoring with five three-balls for 15 points.
Brown’s performance was overshadowed by Warrior guard Keaka Kauhane, who poured in 14 points for the Warriors in the first half, including dropping a critical pair of treys in the opening quarter that put Kapa‘a in the thick of competition.
Kauhane continued to stoke the Warrior offense by finishing with a game-high 34 points, including a 9-point third quarter where Kapa‘a outgunned Kaua‘i 18-16 to finish the quadrant tied at 50-50.
Foul trouble plagued play on the hardwood, with Kapa‘a suffering its first casualty in the third quarter, and Kaua‘i’s wings being trimmed as two of its starters buzzed out in the final quarter.
The charity shots resulting from the fouls took their toll against Kaua‘i, as the Raiders could only find the net eight times on 18 tries.
Kauhane, the leading Warriors scorer, blistered the twine for 12 times on 13 attempts, while overall Kapa‘a posted 17 points on 23 attempts from the free throw line.
Earlier in the evening, the Kaua‘i High junior varsity squad came back from a 14-12 first quarter deficit to out-distance the Warrior JV boys, 53-44, behind the high scoring of Barkley Gillman and Keanu Perreira-Inouye each tickling the twine for 14 points.
Warrior JV strong man Ty Kamoku topped the Kapa‘a effort with 13 points, followed by Austin Green ending with eight points, including a pair launched from outside the 3-point arc.
Scores from the Island School at Waimea High contests were not available at press time.
The Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation play continues play, Jan. 3, when Waimea High visits Kaua‘i High and Kapa‘a comes to visit Island School at Wilcox Gymnasium in Puhi. Tipoff for the junior varsity games at both sites is 5:30 p.m. with the varsity contest to start 20 minutes following the end of the JV game.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
