The Hawaii Hammerheads matched Maui United’s Scotty Prather, a former UH-Hilo standout, with clutch play after clutch play in their first preseason game, displaying the type of entertaining hoops that the team promised.
Hometown boy Aukai Wong scored 29 points on 10 of 20 shooting, and the Hammerheads outlasted the Valley Isle visitors 119-113 on Saturday night at UHH gym, in the debut of Hilo’s first pro basketball team.
Brandon Matano dribbled-dished to Anthony Gallagher who scored the go-ahead basket for a 115-113 lead with 19.3 seconds left. Then Wong gave Hawaii a bit of breathing room with two free throws for the final margin with 8.7 seconds left.
Down the stretch, Prather showed why the term “Take it to the bank” was invented with him in mind when it’s time to make a crucial shot, either from the field or the free-throw line.
Prather buried back-to-back 3-pointers to get Maui United within 106-103 with under three minutes. Then he swished seven straight free throws, the last tying the game 113-113 with 37.3 seconds to go.
“It was awesome. I loved every minute of it,” said Prather, who played for UHH from 1998-2002. “It was good to see friend faces who supported me all those years ago.”
The Hammerheads conclude their preseason against the Kauai Stars at 4 p.m. Sunday at UHH gym. The Battle on the Big Island tournament starts at 10 a.m. with youth teams.
Prather scored 26 points on 7 of 12 shooting and, of course, made 7 of 7 free throws. Cody Tesero scored a game-high 31 points, dropping in mid-range jumpers and racing to the rim for layups.
Matano finished with 24 points on 9 of 21 shooting, and the other local boys were Calvin Mattos (13 points), Isiah Ekau (10 points), and Lanaki Apele (four points).
Among the 700 fans were a few dignitaries, including mayor Harry Kim in his official No. 17 Hammerhead jersey, shorts, and sneakers, looking ready to hoop, and state senator Kai Kahele.
Maui United wasn’t a collection of glorified weekend pick-up hoopsters. All of them played college ball and looked like they were in good shape. The Valley Isle visitors didn’t play bystander or Carmelo Anthony defense and made the Hammerheads work for their points.
Before the game started, there was already a package of dynamite delivered with Matano, who was on TNT’s Dunk Kings, powering down entertaining slams during layup drills.
The entertainment also extended to the halftime break with the Hammerhead dance team, led by instructor Kea Kapahua. The dancers performed to a tune by, you guessed it, MC Hammer, which delighted the faithful.
Mattos, the the only Hawaii basketball player to sign a pro contract out of high school, looked right at home against his seasoned competition. The 18-year-old out of Waiakea has a goatee and could pass for someone a few years older.
In the second quarter Mattos nailed a 3-pointer for a 41-38 lead with 6:05 left for his first pro points. He later added his favored right-handed floater for a 53-44 cushion with 45 seconds remaining.
In the third quarter, Maui United just wouldn’t go away and went on a 9-0 run to get within 76-74 after Cameron Sanchez’ 3-pointer with 3:35 left. Then Hawaii’s Joel Feigler erased the dry spell with a reverse slam dunk.
Each team finished with 32 turnovers, but Hawaii cleaned the glass better with more rebounds, 56-46, and shot 53 percent from the field, utilizing its size against Maui, which hit 44 percent from the floor.
Maui 29 18 31 35 — 113
Hawaii 31 22 33 33 — 119