Raiders pull past Kahuku, advance to state final

Maile Greenhill
March 5, 2010
Filed under Sports

Boys Basketball Defeats Kahuku in Semifinal from Imua Online on Vimeo.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Raiders got it done.

‘Iolani advanced to the HHSAA Boys Basketball Division I state championship for the first time in four years, defeating Kahuku in the semifinal game, 55-44, at the Stan Sheiff Center Friday night. Senior Kainoa Chu was the high scorer for the Raiders with 22 points.

The game was a struggle most of the way. The first quarter went back and forth, with both teams committing careless turnovers. ‘Iolani took control with 3-pointers from Chu and Trevyn Tulonghari ’11, and closed the quarter leading 14-11.

The second quarter was similar to the first, but ‘Iolani fought to make a 12-4 scoring run and ended the first half leading 30-22.

In the third quarter, both teams had trouble making shots, and the Raiders remained in the lead, finishing the third up 39-36. For most of the fourth quarter, the score stayed at 41-36, until Chu converted a 3-point play to spark an ‘Iolani scoring run. As the Raiders pulled away, Kahuku was forced to foul, and by then the game was over.

‘Iolani will face ILH rival and defending state champion Kamehameha in the championship game tonight at Stan Sheriff Center, 7 p.m.

Raiders overhwhelm Radford in quarterfinals

‘Iolani vs. Radford March 4, 2010 from Imua Online on Vimeo.

Raiders top Radford]

The ‘Iolani boys secured a spot in the Final Four of the HHSAA Division 1 Basketball state tournament on Thursday, March 4, defeating Mililani by a score of 72-53. Leading in points for the Raiders were Kainoa Chu with 20 and Trevyn Tulonghari with 13.

The two halves of this quarterfinal matchup were complete opposites of each other, with the Raiders making mistakes in the first half but controlling the game in the second. The Raiders struggled in the first quarter, committing costly turnovers and shooting poorly. At one point ‘Iolani fell behind 17-8, but climbed back to close the first quarter at 17-14, Mililani leading.

The Raiders picked it up in the second quarter, with a 12-0 run for the first 4 minutes to begin the quarter. Mililani did fight back, and the second half ended with ‘Iolani leading 30-29. The energy of the Raiders’ intensified in the third, bringing the crowd to its feet with 3-pointers from Jourdan Simmonds, Tulonghari, and Chu. The third quarter ended with the Raiders taking a commanding lead, 56-41. ‘Iolani continued that intensity in the fourth quarter and never looked back, winning by almost 20 points.

The Raiders will face a strong Kahuku team in the semifinals at Stan Sheriff Center, 5 p.m. Friday.