Darius Chizer scored 11 points, including 4-for-4 shooting at the free-throw line in the final 19.7 seconds, as Mid-Pacific surprised No. 1 Maryknoll 46-44 on Saturday afternoon.
Mid-Pacific improved to 1-1 in ILH play, sending perennial powerhouse Maryknoll into the cellar at 0-2 (15-4 overall).
It was an exchange of clutch moments by the two teams down the stretch. Maryknoll rallied from a 40-32 deficit to tie it at 44 on Nixis Yamauchi’s corner 3 with four seconds left.
MPI coach Robert Shklov then drew up an inbounds play from the past. Inbounds passer Ryan Man sprinted from right to left along the baseline. Rome Lilio, chasing Man, then ran over Chizer, who had set a screen under the basket.
“That’s something we actually practice. That is an Alan Lum play that he taught me 14 or 15 years ago,” Shklov said, referring to his years playing for Lum at Punahou.
Chizer didn’t need to flop as Lilio, at 6 feet, 5 inches, barreled over him for the foul. Chizer had missed two free throws in the third quarter, but swished both charity shots for a 46-44 MPI lead.
Yamauchi’s 3-pointer from the left wing missed as time expired.
Jarek Yee finished with 10 points, Man tallied nine points and Logan Mason chipped in eight for the Owls. MPI shot 8-for-10 from the free-throw line. Maryknoll was 14-for-21 (67%).
Chizer’s gritty effort was an accumulation of offseason reps.
“I trusted my work. I shoot a million free throws. I knock them down,” the sophomore said. “We work hard every day in practice and we have some dogs on this team. Nothing to lose. We just came in here with that mentality. We earned some respect tonight, hopefully.”
It was a disappointing finish to the opening week of league play for the top-ranked Spartans (15-4 overall). They lost at Punahou 47-37 on Thursday, and lost at home to MPI for the first time in ages.
“My first year under (then MPI coach) Ryan (Hirata. I still remember Logan Hutchinson blocked a 3-pointer at the buzzer, so that’s got to be eight years, nine years ago,” Shklov said. “It’s just a credit to the boys. We had a game plan in mind. I challenged them. I told them, honestly, I feel like sometimes you guys are fundamentally opposed to having success. You don’t always have the habits that a team like Maryknoll has. It’s such an amazing culture and (Maryknoll) Coach Kelly (Grant) is one of my coaching idols. The way he has those guys prepared, we had to match that, otherwise it’s going to be a tough one.”
After a long preseason schedule of tough competition, a roller coaster of ups and downs, the Owls executed a peak performance.
“They had a good game plan,” Grant said. “We weren’t ready for that matchup zone. We needed to move to open spots. We would’ve liked more shots in the paint. We’re about getting more quality shots than our opponents, but we were throwing the ball away and it’s demoralizing. It’s a reality check.”
After Maryknoll’s girls team routed Mid-Pacific 81-28 in the first game of the doubleheader, the Owls boys squad spoiled homecoming for Spartans fans. MPI led 13-9 early in the second quarter and kept its lead until Mission Uperesa-Thomas sank two foul shots to give Maryknoll a 25-24 lead with 4:03 left in the third quarter.
After four more lead changes in the third stanza, MPI opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run that silenced a boisterous home crowd. Chizer hustled for a putback, Jarek Yee hit a wing 3 and Man fed Mason for a fast-break layup as the Owls soared to a 36-30 lead.
Despite getting good looks, Maryknoll couldn’t shoot effectively against MPI’s zone defense. After Jacob Bow sank two free throws, the Owls led 40-32 with 1:10 left.
Maryknoll’s full-court pressure rattled MPI. Hunter Marumoto’s 3 cut it to 40-35 with 44 seconds remaining.
After a five-second violation on MPI, Zion Milare sank a free throw, cutting the margin to 40-38 with 41.8 seconds to go.
Man’s feed to Mason for a transition layup opened the Owls’ lead to 42-38 with 32 seconds left.
Yamauchi then splashed a 3-point shot with 21.3 seconds to go, trimming the lead to 42-41.
Facing full-court pressure, Chizer was fouled and sank two free throws for a 44-41 lead with 19.7 seconds to go.
Yamauchi then caught a skip pass on the right wing, squared up and swished another 3 to tie the game at 44. While pandemonium took over Maryknoll Community Center, officials reset the game clock at :04.
Yamauchi led Maryknoll with 13 points. Milare and Marumoto added 10 each. Kaniala Woo chipped in eight points.
MPI’s string of tough games from early November and into the ILH season required a sense of adaptation. Shklov’s hands-on, blue-collar mentality always rubs off. He talked with the team after a 61-43 loss to No. 10 Kamehameha on Thursday.
“The boys took it to heart. Against Kamehameha, we got all out of sorts. There was one run with a lot of one pass, one shot. Pull-ups. I told them they really needed to attack, but stay aggressive,” Shklov said. “We shot 25% (from the field). I’m just happy they took that to heart.”
Now the Owls know. On their good days, they can beat the best in the state.
“That’s the culture we’re trying to set there. There’s no excuse for these guys. They’re a D-I program. I’m never going to allow them to settle for less,” Shklov said. “They need to treat themselves as such, as well. I hope this goes a long way for them to really believe in themselves.”
No. 4 Punahou 55, No. 5 ‘Iolani 35
Ayndra Uperesa-Thomas scored 12 points to lead a balanced Buffanblu attack. Mana Lau Kong led the Raiders with 10 points.
Punahou (13-4) is now 2-0 in ILH play. The Buffanblu will host Kamehameha on Tuesday. ‘Iolani dropped to 0-2 in league play (9-9 overall). The Raiders visit Maryknoll on Tuesday.
“This group has a number of seniors that has hit that maturity level. Seeing them grow and play well together, play hard defensively, that’s kind of the formula to try and win this league,” Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. “We changed a little bit what we do. The game changes. Defenses have adjusted. It’s more of a motion offense, passing, sharing the ball. We had to change what we did.”
Coming off a big win over No. 1 Maryknoll, the Buffanblu did not disappoint a large crowd at Hemmeter Fieldhouse. James Taras’ steal and breakaway slam capped a 10-4 game-opening run.
‘Iolani switched from man defense to a 2-3 matchup zone, but Kekai Burnett scored on the block for back-to-back baskets. After Noah Macapulay splashed his second trey and Taras scored easily in the paint, Punahou had a 19-8 lead.
Reserves kept the momentum going. Jon Yoshimoto swished a 3 and Tanoaalofa Scanlan’s and-1 layup kept the fire lit. After Zion White scored inside and Yoshimoto sank two foul shots, Punahou had a 35-12 lead at intermission. ‘Iolani got within 16, but no closer.
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS
ILH
Friday
University 53, Maryknoll II 23
Kamehameha II 59, ‘Iolani II 48
Assets 43, Island Pacific 38
Damien 48, Hanalani 45
Saturday
Saint Louis 66, Kamehameha 33
Mid-Pacific 46, Maryknoll 44
Punahou 55, ‘Iolani 35
Punahou II 80, Le Jardin 47
Saint Louis II 59, Hawaii Baptist 52
OIA
Friday
Kahuku 91, Castle 40
Leilehua 56, Pearl City 33
Mililani 80, Aiea 53
Kalani 56, Roosevelt 43
Kalaheo 85, Moanalua 54
Kaimuki 73, McKinley 50
Nanakuli 69, Kapolei 48
Waipahu 43, Waialua 41
Radford 53, Waianae 35
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS
ILH
Friday
‘Iolani 54, Kamehameha 45
Hanalani 47, Damien 43
Saturday
Maryknoll 81, Mid-Pacific 28
OIA
Saturday
Kahuku 66, Kailua 33
Roosevelt 46, Kalaheo 30
Kaiser 38, Castle 36
Radford 61, Waialua 5
