‘Iolani sprints past Roosevelt and into state boys basketball quarterfinals

Two-time defending state champion ‘Iolani left no doubt on Monday night, scoring the game’s first nine points en route to a 59-35 win over Roosevelt in the Division I opening round of the Heide & Cook/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.

A moderately excited crowd of roughly 250 watched at Father Bray Athletic Center on the ‘Iolani campus.

Senior Jack Jones scored 14 points and sophomore Taniela Taliauli had 13 for the Raiders. Jones, a 6-foot-1 leaper, threw down a dunk in the second half that elicited the loudest cheer of the night.

“I’d say we definitely take pride in our defense. We know teams can’t really score on us and we have really good defensive chemistry, and we like to get into our transition with really good defense,” he said.

Freshman JJ Mandaquit scored 11 and sophomore Aaron Claytor had eight points, three assists and three steals. Bailey Bumanglag dished out five assists and had a team-high five steals.

“Getting the win was really big for our kids, but also the exposure to the state tournament scene. For a lot of these guys, it’s the first time they actually played in a state tournament game,” ‘Iolani coach Ryan Hirata said. “I think it’s good for them to get into the atmosphere, getting used to how loud it’s going to be. Getting back on the court and playing against another league is something different since we’ve been kind of grinding away in the ILH.”

Taliauli was a clutch, playmaking receiver for the Raiders football team. Now he’s clutching up with his 3-point stroke back.

“Roosevelt’s a really good team. They’re well coached. Obviously a lot of heart,” Taliauli said. “They hung in there for a long time, but fortunately, we came out with the win.”

‘Iolani (15-6) will play Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Hilo on Thursday, 5 p.m., at McKinley in the quarterfinal round.

“It’s going to be fun playing against them,” said Taliauli, who is originally from Hilo, as is Mandaquit. “We kind of want to show our boys how we’ve grown. They’re a really good team.”

‘Iolani is the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up after losing to Saint Louis in the championship game on Saturday.

On Monday, they used a trapping 1-3-1 defense to stifle the visiting Rough Riders. The visitors committed 15 first-half turnovers and finished with 30 in all.

“We haven’t seen anybody this fast. At the beginning of the year, I had ‘Iolani as one of the top two teams,” Roosevelt coach Steve Hathaway said. “They’re so fast and they’ve got so many dang shooters. I’m proud of my team. They played as hard as they could.”

Junior center Kamuela Kaaihue led Roosevelt (10-6) with 15 points and eight rebounds. Kayman Lewis had seven points, and Kainalu Davis added four points, four rebounds and one block.

A 3 by Mandaquit opened the nine-point lead. Roosevelt switched from a 2-3 zone to 1-2-2 zone and got a layup by Lewis and a couple of buckets by Kaaihue to get within 15-10.

However, Mandaquit hit a straightaway 3 from the top before the buzzer to give the Raiders an 18-10 lead.

The home team then went on a 10-3 run to open the second quarter. Makani Tanaka deflected a pass and scored and sophomore Taliauli splashed 3-pointers from the left wing and left corner for a 26-10 lead.

Late in the second quarter, Mandaquit caught a pass from Claytor and went behind the back to avoid a defender for a layup. That gave ‘Iolani its largest lead at intermission, 34-15.

A layup by Davis and a three-point play in the paint by Kaaihue cut the lead to 34-20, but the Raiders answered with a quick 8-0 run. Mandaquit and Taliauli, the Hilo duo, rained in 3-pointers to spark the Raiders to a 42-20 lead late in the third quarter.

Now, the Raiders play a Hilo squad coached by former state championship player Ben Pana. Two Raiders, Mandaquit and Taliauli, might have played for Pana had they not moved to Oahu and become Raiders rather than Vikings.

Kahuku 62, Kamehameha-Hawaii 37

Amari Westmoreland-Vendiola scored 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting and Red Raiders soared by the host Warriors.

Kahuku led KS-Hawaii 29-18 at halftime and blew it open by outscoring the Warriors 20-6 in the third quarter to take 49-24 lead going into the final quarter.

Kailua 53, Kapolei 43

Jonny Philbrick had 18 points and six steals to lead the Surfriders past the Hurricanes and into the quarterfinals.

Reece Matsukawa added 13 points and four rebounds and four assists for Kailua, which led 25-21 at halftime but blew the game open by outscoring Kapolei 20-4 in the third period.