HILO – It was a long time coming, and it wasn’t easy, but Honokaa lived up to its inspirational motto: Get It Done.
In dramatic fashion, the Dragons prevailed over Hawaii Prep 51-50 in the BIIF Division II championship on Friday night at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, capturing their first league title since 2001.
With five seconds left, Honokaa inbounded the ball from down court, Kainalu Lau attacked the rim and was fouled with no time on the clock. He had two free throws to win the game, but he only needed one attempt, swishing it.
Down 44-35 entering the fourth quarter, the Dragons caught fire and jumped on a 15-2 scoring run to grab a 50-46 lead with 1:10 remaining. It was their first lead since opening 4-2 in the first quarter.
Honokaa had a chance to get a little breathing room with 25.8 seconds left but missed two free throws. Then HPA worked for one shot, and Javan Perez got to the rim for a layup and 50-50 tie.
From there, it was Honokaa magic — four years in the making.
“For four years since I’ve been coach, the kids have followed the process,” Honokaa coach Jayme Carvalho said. “It paid off, and it’s all about the team. I can’t say enough about Kamuela Spencer-Herring and Kelvin Falk. Koa Callihan sprained his ankle during warm-ups but still played.
“And what can you say about Kainalu Lau? He and Shelton Carvalho are our defensive guys. They both guarded (HPA point guard) Jonah Hurney. That fourth quarter was all about heart. We told the guys if you want the championship, then go get it. They didn’t sit down and get satisfied. It was GID — Get It Done.”
Spencer-Herring scored 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting, and Falk added 14 on 6 of 15 shooting for Honokaa, which shot 49 percent (19 of 39) from the floor and made 10 of 19 free throws, not a good percentage but the last one mattered most.
Matija Vitorovic scored 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting, Michael Hanano added 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting, and Jonah Hurney had eight points for HPA, which converted 43 percent from the field (15 of 35) and sank 18 of 22 free throws.
Both teams have berths to the HHSAA Division II state tournament, which will be held Feb. 15-17 on Oahu.
It was the first time the Dragons (11-3) and Ka Makani (9-5) played for the BIIF championship, and it was a neighborhood battle to remember.
In the first half, Honokaa gave up four unnecessary points as HPA went into halftime with a 28-20 lead.
With 2:33 left in the second quarter, Vitorovic nailed two technical foul free throws, after the Dragons touched the ball for a delay of game for the second time. Then right before the buzzer, Hurney beat everyone down the court and sank a transition layup.
For much of the first half, HPA dribble-penetrated off passes and either attempted layups or dished off, and Hanano carried the offense with eight points, hitting jump shots and banking in close shots.
The Dragons were outscored for the first three quarters, but in the final eight minutes they turned up the defensive heat on HPA. Then Lau buried the biggest free throw of the game — dramatic GID style.
Hawaii Prep 11 17 16 6 — 50
Honokaa 9 11 15 16 — 51