Jayden Kipapa pumped in 28 points, hitting six of nine shots from 3-point range, as No. 4 Mililani outlasted No. 9 Campbell 58-52 on Friday night at the Trojans’ gym.
Mililani improved to 8-0 in OIA West play (14-3 overall), handing Campbell (18-5, 7-1) its first loss in league play. It was Campbell’s first defeat after 10 wins going back to preseason.
Mililani 10-game win streak began with close wins over ‘Iolani and Kamehameha at the Moanalua Invitational.
“It was a tough one. Kind of what we expected from Campbell. They’re a very good team, battle tested, shoot the 3s. We had some difficulty rebounding,” Mililani coach Garrett Gabriel said. “I just told the boys you guys got to fight. They had a lot of favorable matchups, but we showed some resilience and, of course, Jayden hitting those shots was big for us.”
Campbell played well enough in defeat.
“They just played a hell of a game, Kipapa went off. He shot from everywhere, just drained everything. I thought we played good defense on him, but he shot NBA 3s and still made them,” Campbell coach Wyatt Tau said.
Mililani’s offense against Campbell’s zone and man defenses involves plenty of ball movement. Kipapa happened to be on fire.
“He’s got range, and when he starts feeling it, we know he’s going to take some bad shots, but also when he starts feeling it, you kind of turn your head,” Gabriel said. “He’s been playing really well even besides the shooting part — understanding he’s a leader, controlling the offense. Last game when (point guard) J Marxen was injured, he did a good job controlling the ball.”
It was new territory for Kipapa.
“Club ball is a different story, but for high school ball, yeah it’s one of my good moments today,” he said. “Coach says keep shooting. He trusts me.”
Kipapa started out with a bucket and a free throw before connecting on his first 3-point try late in the opening quarter. He then hit one trey in the second, while the Trojans executed well enough for a 25-22 halftime lead. Mililani shot 6-for-11 from the arc against Campbell’s tough 1-2-2 matchup zone. Creighton Ofsonka connected on two treys and Roman Gabriel hit another to keep the Trojans in the lead going into the half.
Kipapa hit his first four shots of the second half, including three treys. Back-to-back 3s, including two off the dribble from 25 and 27 feet, helped open the lead to 35-26.
Campbell chipped away and got within two points. Mizah Carreira’s one-handed, hang-time tip-in at the buzzer cut the lead to 40-38 entering the final quarter.
Rondell Blenman-Villareal scored nine points in the fourth stanza, all in the paint. However, the Sabers shot 2-for-6 from the free-throw line in the fourth and could not get much going from the perimeter, shooting 1-for-13 from the arc.
Campbell got within 47-46, but Kipapa splashed another NBA-distance 3 with 3:30 remaining. He fed Ofsonka for a fast-break layup and three-point play, and after Kipapa hit two foul shots, the Trojans led 55-47 with 1:41 to go.
Blenman-Villareal scored Campbell’s next five points, cutting the margin to three points with 36.1 seconds remaining, but Lecedric Brown swished two clutch free throws with 24.4 seconds left for a 57-52 lead.
Marxen, who finished with six assists, added a free throw with 14.2 seconds left for Mililani.
Ofsonka finished with 11 points. Mililani shot 10-for-21 from the arc. Campbell was 1-for-13.
Blenman-Villareal led Campbell with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Carreira finished with 15 points and five boards.
Mililani will travel to Radford on Wednesday and host Radford on Jan. 21 to close the regular season. Campbell will host Aiea today and Leilehua on Wednesday.
