The boys basketball team of King Kekaulike won against the Kamehameha Maui Warriors for the second time this season, keeping them in first place with seven wins and no losses this season. They score was 48-27 for the game at Kaʻulaheanuiokamoku Gymnasium on January 17.
“It’s hard to be number one in the league,” King Kekaulike Head Coach Bill Naylor said. “Everyone plays hard, so we try not to look at the record, but the next game and how we can prepare for it.”
The Warriors had a rough game, scoring mostly from free throws and missing many of their shots. Whether they shot from the outside or pushed their way into the key, the boys’ shots bounced, wobbled, circled, and seemed to do anything but go in.
“While we have gotten better, we still need to work on our fundamentals,” Warriors Head Coach Chad Kalehuawehe said.
The Warriors are currently in fourth place (2-6) in the Maui Interscholastic League, a little past midpoint in the season.
“We have nothing to lose,” Sophomore Keawe Rindlishbacher said. “With a losing record, we only have things to prove.”
The Nā Aliʻi were quick to make a basket in the first quarter, and junior Chase Iwata-Bartelme gave King Kekaulike an edge with a three-point shot.
“Nā Aliʻi had better shots,” Coach Kalehuawehe said.
The Warriors put up five points between one basket and three free throws, and Nā Ali’i were ahead eleven-points, 5-16, at the end of the first quarter.
The Warriors played a hard defense in the second quarter.
“We started to play better defense,” Coach Kalehuawehe said. “We also had more energy.”
But Nā Aliʻi stayed out in front, nearly doubling their score in a spree that started with a three-point shot by senior Alroy Ferriera about two minutes in.
Senior Kolby Ah Sau, Rindlishbacher, Kahiau Andrade and Billy Ayakawa scored seven points from free throws and shots and the game was 12-30 at halftime.
In the second half, Nā Aliʻi kept their double-digit lead, winning 27-48 by the end of the night.
In the final three minutes, both coaches rotated through their rosters, and Warrior fans got to see everyone on the team play.
One of the highlights in the fourth quarter was a solid three-pointer fired off by senior Micah Mossman at the top of the fourth quarter.
