When Honokaa coach Jayme Carvalho thinks his players are being too unselfish, he reminds them of one of his basketball theories: a bad shot is better than a bad pass.
Carvalho saw evidence to support the notion Thursday at the HHSAA basketball tournament.
The Dragons committed 25 turnovers, and their Division II semifinal started to get away from them in the second quarter as Saint Francis got hot from 3-point range and walked away with a 78-50 victory at Kalani High School in Honolulu.
Beyond its sloppy ball-handling, BIIF champion Honokaa (12-4) didn’t shoot the ball well either – 32.7 percent overall and 2 of 16 on 3s – after a strong start from Kelvin Falk, who scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter.
The top-seeded Saints (12-0) tore through St. Joseph’s preseason tournament in December, beating both eventual BIIF champions, and they showed a similar form in the semifinal.
With Falk sinking two 3-pointers, Honokaa led by as many as six early on, but Kameron Ng got going on the perimeter and the ILH champion Saints used a 17-3 to take control in the second quarter.
Ng scored 24 points as Saint Francis started 8 of 13 from 3-point range.
Leading 38-28 at halftime, the Saints did little wrong in the third quarter. Boris Vukovic hit a nifty turnaround jumper and Ng fed Supilani Mailei inside for a layup as the ILH champion Saints led 59-35 entering the fourth, advancing to face Kalani in Friday’s title game at Stan Sheriff Center.
Honokaa is the only Big Island team to advance to Stan Sheriff Center. At 3 p.m., the Dragons will take on Maui’s Seabury as they try to better their fourth-place finish from last year.
Koa Callihan finished with nine points for Honokaa and Kamuela Spencer-Herring had seven points and five rebounds.
Le Jardin 44, Hawaii Prep 40
Ka Makani never did find its shooting stroke on Oahu, making just 16 of 54 from the field in losing a consolation game at Saint Francis.
Matija Vitorovic led the way with 12 points and Jonah Hurney added 10 for BIIF runner-up HPA (9-7), which was just 2 of 19 from 3-point range and stayed in the game by forcing the ILH Bulldogs into 20 turnovers.
Jerry Lawson scored 25 points with eight assists for Le Jardin.
Division I
Kalaheo 72, Waiakea 70
Calvin Mattos finished his sterling high school career with a triple-double at Radford High School, but the Warriors went two and out at states for the third time in four seasons.
While Jerek Prudencio made four 3-pointers and led the way with 18 points, Mattos posted 14 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, two blocks and a steal for BIIF champion Waiakea (11-5).
Ryan Pardini scored 20 points for the OIA’s Mustangs, who overcame 38.7 percent shooting by forcing 20 turnovers and holding a 40-32 rebounding advantage.
Noah Tominaga came off the bench to score 13 points for Waiakea, which shot 18 of 30 in second half.
Leilehua 71, Konawaena 49
The Wildcats were outrebounded 35-15 in losing a consolation game at Radford, finishing the season 14-3.
Austin Aukai and Austin Ewing each scored 14 points for BIIF runner-up Konawaena, and Kamakana Ching added 10.
The Mules of the OIA shot a robust 60.8 percent. Liam Fitzgerald led all scorers with 18 points and Trey Boatwright went for 10 points and 10 rebounds.