KEALAKEKUA — Konawaena entered Monday’s first round state playoff game looking to shake off a bad beat to Waiakea in the BIIF Championship game three days prior. The Wildcats managed to do so, while also snapping their own four-game losing streak in the HHSAA Division I state tournament with a 68-55 victory over visiting Kailua at Ellison Onizuka Gymnasium.
Konawaena was led by sharp shooting senior Austin Aukai, who scored 25 points, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Aukai also led the team with seven rebounds, to go along with three assists and two steals.
“We came in with a chip on our shoulder and this was a good team win,” Aukai said. “I was able to carry over my shooting from last week and it felt good to win at state because I have never had this feeling before.”
Konawaena advances to the quarterfinals on Wednesday, where they will play No. 2 Punahou at Radford High School. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
“This was a big win against one of the better Oahu schools,” Konawaena head coach Donny Awa said. “This win feels pretty good. Now we get to go to Oahu and have to figure out how to book everything in a day and a half, but we will make it work.”
The win also ended an eight-game losing streak by BIIF teams in the state playoffs and marked the first time a BIIF runner-up squad has won a state first round game since the Hilo accomplished the feat in 2012.
Free throw shooting down the stretch was the key to Konawaena’s success. In the first three quarter the Wildcats held a lead of seven and nine points, but each time Kailua was able to fight back. In the fourth quarter, Konawaena went up by nine, but this time the team held and the Surfriders were forced to foul.
Along with Aukai’s free throw shooting, Austin Ewing went 8-for-8 from the line and the team as a whole was 18-of-22.
On defense, missed rotations allowed Kailua to hang around early. The Surfriders had a two point lead at halftime and the game was tied at 45 apiece after three quarters.
“When we got our leads it was because of steals and fast breaks,” Awa said. “When we lost the lead it was because we missed rotations on those same attempts. It’s hard to trap them because they are so tall.”
When Kailua did manage to come back, the offense was led by Everett Torres-Kahapea, who went 5-for-6 from long range, finishing with a team high 21 points.
“We are rotating and we finally told whoever was on him not to rotate anymore,” Awa said.
Konawaena got off to a quick start in the first quarter, scoring on a 3-point play off the tip-off. Kamakana Ching won the jump, sending the ball to Aukai, who darted down the court and scored on a layup, while picking up a foul.
Kailua followed with back-to-back short jumpers by Zachary Marrotte and Torres-Kahapea, but the Wildcats answered back with a seven point run, capped by an Aukai 3-pointer.
Konawaena went up by nine midway through the opening period when Aukai hit another trey and Ewing followed with a short jumper, but the game was far from over.
Kailua began to chip away at the lead behind the long range accuracy of Torres-Kahapea, who knocked down two 3-pointers over the next two minutes. A layup by Aaron Media made it a two point game with a minute to go in the first quarter, but Ching hit a short jumper for the Wildcats, putting his team up 20-16.
Konawaena widened its advantage to six points to start the second quarter. However, Kailua followed with a seven point run behind a pair of long range shots from Mejia and Torres-Kahapea to take their first lead since early in the opening quarter.
Both teams battled for the advantage over the final five minutes of the half. With the game tied at 29-29 with 7.7 seconds to go before the break, Mejia hit a heavily contested short jumper to put the Surfriders up by two at halftime.
Kailua stretched its lead to four early in the third quarter before the Wildcats forced five turnovers in a row, resulting in Konawaena taking a 40-35 advantage. Ewing scored seven points during the nine point run.
Similar to the opening frame, Kailua found rhythm late in the period, tying the game on a Marrotte layup with only seconds remaining in third quarter. Torres-Kahapea also knocked down another 3-pointer, his fifth and final one of the game.
Konawaena went on a 9-0 run to start the final quarter. Hauoli Akau started the run with a jumper and closed it out with a layup to put the Wildcats up 54-45 with five minutes to play.
Kailua could not muster a third comeback attempt from such a deficit as their press failed to force the turnovers the team needed. Konawaena increased its lead to double digits three times over the final three minutes, picking up the points from the free throw line.
The Wildcat defense put a stamp on the game in the final minute with back-to-back blocks.