Skylar Miyasato scored 19 points, sparking a key 7-0 fourth-quarter run as Moanalua upset BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawaii 54-49 on Wednesday night in the Division I quarterfinals of the Heide & Cook/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.
OIA sixth-place finisher Moanalua (17-10 overall) surprised OIA runner-up Mililani on Monday to advance. Na Menehune will play Saint Louis in the semifinal round at Moanalua today.
“I always try to get to the paint. The mid-range shot is something I practice a lot. Don’t force anything, let the game come to me,” Miyasato said. “I feel confident. We’re not surprised. We showed glimpses of what we could do in the preseason all along. We had stretches where we played really good teams and played well. That’s when we knew we could compete with any team in the state.”
One of those teams that Moanalua beat was Saint Louis in a 58-57 thriller at the ‘Iolani Classic.
Kamehameha-Hawaii will meet Kailua at 5 p.m. today at McKinley in consolation play.
“It took too long to adjust to the physicality, speed,” KS-Hawaii coach Mea Wong said. “I thought we did OK, but we talked about playing with tempo in transition, it’s not all the time. So we didn’t move the ball enough in the halfcourt throughout the course of the game. That’s when we rest.
“Man, they hit some tough shots. Skylar hit some big shots. No. 10 (Michael Barcelona) hit some tough finishes around the rim. Those are all 50-50 balls.”
When the teams met on Dec. 8 at the Moanalua Invitational, Na Menehune prevailed 52-39. The Warriors, however, did not have the services of high-scoring sophomore Nixis Yamauchi that day.
On Wednesday, Yamauchi began slowly before turning it on from behind the arc (3-for-3). The 6-foot-2 guard finished with 17 points, as did Kiai Yasso, who was 4-for-12 from 3-point range.
A near-capacity crowd at Moanalua’s gym saw the two teams battle evenly through three quarters.
Moanalua did it with a wide 2-3 zone, switching out of its man-to-man defense to begin the fourth quarter. Clutch plays on both ends have become Moanalua mantra.
Miyasato dished to guard Austin Oguma for a corner 3, scored in the paint, and then scored on a one-legged step-back again in the paint for a 48-41 lead to start the fourth quarter.
Barcelona hit a tough jumper in the lane, and then drove for another tough bucket with the foul. His free throw extended Moanalua’s lead to 53-44 with 3:09 remaining.
KS-Hawaii got within 53-49 after a 3 by Yamauchi and a mid-range jumper by Kawohi Huihui.
That was as close as the Warriors got in the final two minutes. Despite two turnovers and a missed layup by Moanalua, KS-Hawaii missed opportunities. Miyasato added a free throw with 15.4 seconds left.
“It’s just staying level-headed. Can’t get too high or too low. It’s always the mentality of moving on to the next play,” Miyasato said.
Moanalua’s reserves played a key role in the first half. Oguma splashed two 3-pointers as Na Menehune took a 13-8 lead late in the first quarter.
The Warriors didn’t quite get in sync offensively but were productive enough from deep to stay close. Yasso connected on two 3-pointers and had eight points in the opening quarter.
Coming off the bench, center Ruben Chavez’s putback beat the buzzer for a 15-13 Moanalua lead going into the second quarter.
Yamauchi connected on a 3 but was also whistled for an offensive foul. Moanalua got tough on-ball defense from Jeremy Garner, Oguma and Jerome Williams.
Williams fed Miyasato for a corner 3 with five seconds left to open Moanalua’s lead to 30-24 before the half.
Kamehameha-Hawaii hustled back and got a lefty layup by Yamauchi before the buzzer, tying the game at 41 after three quarters.
Moanalua was outrebounded 31-27 but had just 11 turnovers to 15 by KS-Hawaii.
The Warriors shot 7-for-21 from the 3-point line and was 2-for-4 at the charity stripe.
Other D-I quarterfinals
Maryknoll 41, Kamehameha-Maui 19
Justin Yap scored 10 points and Fabian Camacho and Zion Milare each added nine as the Spartans (25-6) beat the Warriors (13-9) at McKinley.
Dylan Schnitzer scored seven points for Kamehameha-Maui, which scored only four combined points over the second and third quarters.
Campbell 43, Kahuku 40
Rondell Blenman-Villarreal and Mason Muaau each had nine points and eight rebounds as the Sabers (25-5) turned back the Red Raiders in a quarterfinal at McKinley.
Mizah Carreira added eight points for the Sabers. Mystique Akina-Watson had 11 points, Kache Kaio 9 and Brock Fonoimoana 8 for the Red Raiders (19-5).
The OIA champion Sabers will face ILH runner-up Maryknoll, 5 p.m. today at Moanalua gym.
