‘Iolani will be a tough out.
The Raiders, behind steady outside shooting, tight defense and sound fundamentals, swatted down Mid-Pacific 70-59 in an ILH single-elimination playoff Thursday at ‘Iolani gym.
The Raiders (5-6), who ended the regular season with a 63-58 upset of Punahou, will play Maryknoll on Saturday. The game will be at McKinley, with Maryknoll being used to accommodate the Punahou Carnival.
“(Maryknoll) has been playing really great basketball,” ‘Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto said. “They have shooters. They have ball-handlers. They have a big inside. They don’t let you get away with anything.
“It’s funny because it feels like that was our style — to grind them out and let the other team make mistakes and then make them pay for it. They don’t give up a lot of easy buckets and make you earn everything.”
Justin Genovia, with his first-step quickness and slashing drives, led ‘Iolani with 15 points. Steady Kawika Lee and Frank Felix provided the outside touch with 11 points each. Felix hit three 3s and Lee two.
Junior Colin Ramos led the Owls (3-8) with 17 points and senior Kyle Lagana added 12.
‘Iolani, which opened the ILH season with a loss to Mid-Pacific on Jan. 4, beat the Owls the past two meetings.
When asked about the difference between ‘Iolani then and now, MPI coach Ryan Hirata said, “They’re playing with more fire, and, of course, they’re shooting the ball real well.”
‘Iolani’s 70 points are a season high against an ILH opponent. The Raiders have been held under 50 in seven of 11 games and to 40 points or fewer four times.
“The last couple of games have been good to see us get our offense going,” Shimamoto said. “We gave up a lot of points, but our problem all year has been scoring, so to put up 70 against a scrappy team like Mid-Pacific shows growth for us.”
Kamehameha 66, Saint Louis 59
Kamren Victorino-Kato scored a game-high 19 points and Christmas Togiai and Kobe Young chipped in 15 for the Warriors (7-4), who advance to play No. 2 seed Punahou on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Damien.
Lachian Hanneman had 12 points to lead the Crusaders, who finished 0-11 under first-year coach Sol Batoon.
