Reynaldo Arcellana kept giving Keaau the lead, but St. Joseph refused to down quietly until the very exciting end.
Manato Fukuda’s layup rolled off the rim as time expired, and the Cougars prevailed with a 50-48 overtime win at the Keaau-Waiakea basketball tournament on Thursday night.
Fukuda finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the Cardinals. Cole DeSilva added 12 points.
Arcellana scored 15 points to lead the Cougars. He nailed 8 of 10 free throws, including 6 of 8 the fourth period. Kirk Imai added 14 points and Damion Scandrick had nine points.
In the other game, Kamehameha defeated Kealakehe 57-39.
Pukana Vincent led the Warriors with 12 points and Sam Kahapea added nine points.
Blaine Bromberg had 13 points and Abraham Kalavi scored 12 for the Waverers.
At 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Cougars Gym, it’s Ka’u vs. St. Joseph, followed by Pahoa vs. Kealakehe at 6 p.m., and Keaau vs. Kamehameha at 7:30 p.m.
“It was an intense game,” Keaau coach Jun Pagala said. “It went down to the wire. We held up at the end and told the kids that every game if they want it they have to go get it. They have to fight for every possession, every rebound.
“It’s the preseason and it’s helping us find out what we need to correct and get ready for the season.”
Entering the fourth period, Keaau trailed 37-30. Arcellana eventually put the Cougars ahead 41-40 on a pair of free throws, and followed with a 3-pointer.
Manato swished two free throws to tie it 45-45 with 4.8 seconds left to force a five-minute overtime.
In OT, Arcellana scored on a putback to push Keaau ahead 49-48.