WAIMEA – Waimea couldn’t buy a bucket Tuesday night, but they could play defense, and that was enough against a short-handed Kapa’a Warrior roster. The Menehune caused 23 turnovers and allowed just 9 Warrior points in the first three quarters
WAIMEA – Waimea couldn’t buy a bucket Tuesday night, but they could play defense, and that was enough against a short-handed Kapa’a Warrior roster.
The Menehune caused 23 turnovers and allowed just 9 Warrior points in the first three quarters to win 46-21 at Clem Gomes Gymnasium in Waimea.
It was the fourth straight win for the unbeaten Menehune, who recently won the first round of the Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation regular season. But it wasn’t pretty.
Waimea scored just 15 points in the first half, failing to capitalize on 16 Warrior turnovers with a number of botched layups.
The Menehune would come back with 31 points in the second half, sparked in part by guard Alan Manuel, who led the scoring with 14 points.
Josh Vinzant provided the bulk of Waimea’s first half production, scoring 5 points in the initial quarter to give the Menehune an early 7-2 lead. Vinzant finished with 9 points and 8 rebounds.
Despite the shooting trouble, Waimea held Kapa’a to just two field goals in the first half, each allowed in the first quarter.
The Menehune defense suffocated the Warriors throughout the game, forcing them to play the primarily along the perimiter and limiting their production under the basket. Overall, Waimea out-rebounded Kapa’a 31-14.
Forward Jordon Dizon, who led the Menehune with 19 points in their 48-47 win over Kaua’i, couldn’t find the net at Clem Gomes. He was limited to just 3 points on 3 foul shots.
But the rest of the Menehune filled in nicely. Jay Parinas scored 7 points, Casey Kaohilaulii had 4 points and 5 rebounds and Lanikai Kanahele added 4 points and 4 rebounds. Blaine Camden and Mark Andres each had 2.
The Warriors were led by Amini Ta’ufou’ou’s 7 points and 6 rebounds. Kalima Leong added 4 points, Randy Vicoy had 3, and Kalen Dolor and Clesson Higashi each had 2.
