Raiders stun Warriors in dramatic fashion, 55-54, in OT thriller
Photo Credit: Guthrie Angeles
Gabo Vega's layup with 5.5 seconds left in overtime sealed the Raiders' victory over the visiting Kamehameha Warriors.
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Guthrie Angeles and Maile Greenhill, Sports Editors
January 21, 2012
Filed under Featured Sports Scrollbox, Sports, Sports Center, Top Stories
With 5.5 seconds left in overtime, senior Gabriel “Gabo” Vega scored the game-winning layup to give the Raiders a 55-54 overtime victory over Kamehameha in thrilling fashion at the Lower Gym, Saturday night. Following Kamehameha’s final timeout, Dyrbe Enos’s last-gasp, three-point shot fell short of the basket, into the hands of Vega who held on to seal the win. The Raiders nearly witnessed their own demise with 0.8 seconds left in regulation, when Enos was at the line for a one-and-one free throw with the game tied at 51. However, a rare Enos miss gave the Raiders new life and allowed them to take the game in overtime.
Coming off of a last-second loss to Academy of the Pacific two days earlier, ‘Iolani picked itself up and controlled the pace of this game fairly well, with a small yet constant lead most of the way. ‘Iolani led 40-36 going into the fourth quarter. The Raiders’ intensity began to waver in the last half of the fourth quarter, and they trailed the Warriors by three in the final minute after two free throws by Kamehameha’s Makoa Chamanse-Stevens. Austin O’Leary ’12 responded by draining a well-defended three-pointer to tie it with 7.4 seconds left. However, on the Warriors next possession, Enos was fouled with 0.8 seconds left in regulation. The Raiders, whose nine fouls put the Warriors in the one-and-one bonus, watched as Enos, one of the best shooters in the state, went to the line for the first of a one-and-one series. The shot by Enos, who was 4 for 5 in free throws in the game so far, bounced off the front of the rim and was snatched up by Vega. And thus, the game would go into overtime.
The Warriors struck first on a three-pointer by Austin Gerrard. O’Leary pulled the Raiders to within one, this time with a two-pointer about one step inside the three-point line. Kamehameha couldn’t make a shot despite multiple attempts, and took a timeout with 47 seconds left. A tight ‘Iolani defense caused Enos to step out of bounds, giving the Raiders possession. The Raiders used two timeouts on their ensuing possession, setting up the pivotal final play. With the clock ticking down, Duke Pauli ’12 lobbed a high-arcing pass over the hands of three Kamehameha defenders into the hands of 6’7″ Vega. Vega turned to the basket and made the layup with 5.5 seconds left. After a Kamehameha timeout, the Warriors inbounded the ball to Enos, who moved quickly downcourt, but airballed the desperation three-pointer.
The Raiders’ stifling of Enos was key, as Enos only scored 13 points, as opposed to his average of 19.3 points in previous ILH games. Both teams made 19 field goals, except the Warriors had 54 attempts for 35.2%, compared to the Raiders’ 32 attempts for 59.4%. The Raiders shot 14 for 15 in free throws for 93.3%, while the Warriors struggled from the line, going 8 for 12, equating to 66.7%. Pauli led ‘Iolani with 20 points, as Vega contributed 18 and O’Leary 11. Chamanse-Stevens led the Warriors with 18 points.
The Raiders are now 5-3 in the ILH, the same as both Kamehameha and Maryknoll. AOP and Punahou lead the league with records of 7-1.
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