For nearly 12 months, Kameron Ng kept the pain of a state tournament loss tucked away.
The Saint Francis guard will have a far brighter memory to carry with him into his junior season after leading the Saints to a 52-46 win over Kalani in the Division II final of the Snapple/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Championships on Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
ALL-TOURNAMENT DIVISION II TEAM
(as selected by the media and HHSAA)
Boris Vukovic, Saint Francis
Jaemi Harris, Kalani
Micah Kawano, Kalani
Peter Konohia, Seabury Hall
Jerry Lawson, Le Jardin
Most Outstanding Player: Kameron Ng, Saint Francis
Ng scored a game-high 16 points, forward Boris Vukovic added 13 points and 11 rebounds, and the top-seeded Saints captured the program’s second Division II state title and first since 2013. Saint Francis completed a 13-0 run a year after coming up short against Seabury Hall in last year’s semifinals.
“Last year we lost in a heartbreaker, and we’ve been working so hard for this moment again,” Ng said.
“I tried not to think about it a lot, but every game we play in I always keep that in the back of my mind because I don’t want that to happen again and it worked out this year.”
Saint Francis played without point guard Manoa Kualii-Moe, who suffered a broken elbow in Thursday’s semifinal win over Honokaa. The Saints fell behind early against Kalani, going 0-for-10 from the field in the first quarter.
Saint Francis’ defense triggered a 17-0 run in the second quarter and the Saints built a 16-point lead going into the fourth quarter. They led 46-33 with 1:29 left, but Kalani senior Micah Kawano scored 11 points in a final surge and the Falcons closed to within three with 22.6 seconds remaining. But Vukovic, a 6-foot-3 junior from Serbia, hit two free throws and the Saints hung on for the title.
“I’ve watched so many games here … and it was always my dream to be on this court coaching,” Saint Francis coach Ron Durant said. “I’m so grateful to Saint Francis for giving me the opportunity to fulfill one of my dreams.”
Kalani led 8-1 after the first quarter and Saint Francis recorded its first field goal on Vukovic’s layup at the 6:13 mark of the second period. Ng sparked the Saints’ run by spinning in a reverse layup off the backboard to start a three-point play and Saint Francis held Kalani to just two free throws in the period to take an 18-10 lead into halftime.
“We knew that we’re a good team and our shots were going to fall eventually,” Ng said. “We just had to keep it up on the defensive end and get our stops and that would lead to transition.”
Saint Francis shot 58 percent in the second and third quarters to build a 36-20 lead going into the fourth. Kalani scored six quick points to start the period, but Saint Francis still appeared in control after Ng’s drive to the basket pushed the lead to 13 with 1:29 left.
Kawano drew a foul on a 3-pointer and hit all three free throws. He added two more after a technical foul on the Saints, and drained back-to-back 3s to cut the deficit to 48-44 with 35 seconds left. The Falcons were able to trim one more point off the lead and Vukovic was fouled with 16.3 seconds left. He hit both free throws, and a steal by Micah Kalei effectively ended the Falcons’ comeback hopes.
“It’s definitely something in the DNA of our team,” Kalani coach Nathan Davis said of the frantic rally in the Falcons’ third appearance in the D-II final in the past four years. “I never doubted that we could get back into the game. They’re a really good team and they hit free throws and they got the stops they needed.”
Kawano led Kalani with 15 points and senior Jaemi Harris finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
HHSAA BOYS DIVISION II PLAYOFFS
Championship
Saint Francis 52, Kalani 46
Falcons
MIN FG-A FT-A R A PF PTS
Harris 27 6-13 0-2 9 1 0 13
Pepe 18 1-4 2-4 2 0 4 4
Jacobi 16 0-5 0-4 2 0 1 0
Kawano 30 2-2 5-5 6 2 4 15
Mitchell 24 0-1 4-6 1 1 4 8
Chiu 5 0-0 0-0 3 0 1 0
Nishimura 12 0-4 4-6 3 0 4 4
Sumida 26 0-2 2-2 3 2 1 2
Salas 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
TEAM 3
TOTALS 160 13-45 17-29 32 6 19 46
Saints
MIN FG-A FT-A R A PF PTS
Ka. Ng 32 5-12 6-7 3 2 0 16
Kurosawa 19 1-5 0-0 2 1 2 3
Nishida 20 2-4 3-4 2 1 3 7
Kalei 18 2-6 1-3 4 0 2 6
Mailei 2 0-3 0-0 3 0 2 0
Vukovic 25 5-9 3-6 11 0 4 13
Ko. Ng 23 2-3 1-1 3 2 5 5
Paaluhi-Caulk 21 1-3 0-0 2 1 2 2
TEAM 5
TOTALS 160 18-45 14-21 35 7 20 52
Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; r: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.
Halftime — St. Francis 18, Kalani 10
3-point goals — Kalani 3-13 (Kawano 2-2, Harris 1-3, Jacobi 0-1, Mitchell 0-1, Sumida 0-2, Nishimura 0-4). St. Francis 2-10 (Kalei 1-1, Kurosawa 1-5, Ka. Ng 0-1, Ko. Ng 0-1, Nishida 0-2). Steals — Kalani 10 (Kawano 3, Sumida 3, Harris, Pepe, Mitchell, Chiu). St. Francis 9 (Ka. Ng 4, Ko. Ng 2, Nishida, Kalei, Paaluhi-Caulk). Blocked shots — Kalani 2 (Mitchell, Salas). St. Francis 2 (Kalei, Ko. Ng). Turnovers — Kalani 15 (Mitchell 4, Harris 3, Sumida 3, Pepe 2, Jacobi, Kawano, Chiu). St. Francis 16 (Ka. Ng 5, Nishida 4, Paaluhi-Cauk 4, Ko. Ng 2, Vukovic). Technical fouls — Ko. Ng. Officials — Daniel Matsamura, Terry Arista, Cass Kasparovich.
THIRD PLACE
Seabury Hall 52, Honokaa 43
at Stan Sheriff Center
Seabury Hall 5 18 15 14 — 52
Honokaa 4 13 10 16 — 43
SEABURY HALL—Noah Payne 0, Makoa da Silva 0, Carl Molinaro 0, Christian Jenkins 13, Isaiah Payne 15, Jaxon Naiditch 2, Josh Acidera 4, Chandler Dobson 4, Conner Jenkins 0, Peter Konohia 14.
HONOKAA—Jerome Quines 6, Gene Ansagay 6, Kelvin Falk 7, Koa Callihan 5, Kainalu Lau Rivera 2, Kea Callihan 3, Sheltyn Carvalho 1, Bong Pancho 0, Micah Lorenzo 2, Austyn Ah Choy 0, Klayson Nobriga 0, Kamuela Spencer Herring 11.
3-point goals—Seabury 4 (Jenkins 2, Payne 2). Honokaa 4 (Quines 2, Ko. Callihan, Falk).
FIFTH PLACE
Le Jardin 57, Farrington 53
at Stan Sheriff Center
Le Jardin 14 12 15 16 — 57
Farrington 16 17 8 12 — 53
LE JARDIN—Jordon Sandoval 0, Hunter Mansanas 0, Jay Pahlmeyer 3, Eric Wisnom 4, Jerry Lawson 24, Charlie Abe 2, Aaron Ellingson 3, Mike Leary 0, Dominic Venezia 20, Chance Bridgman 1.
FARRINGTON—Ehzikiel Santiago 21, Felcris Ahadain 8, Von Ulsa 0, Ed Ped 2, Den Cabanlit 0, Reymar Morales 10, Russell Nelson 2, Randell Alob 0, R.J. Wong 5, Pono Roberts 2, CJ Liana 3.
3-point goals—Le Jardin 1 (Ellingson). Farrington 5 (Santiago 3, Ahadain, Wong).
