Lunas’ boys also in the basketball title mix

By Fred Guzman

There’s more than one team enjoying success at Lahainaluna this basketball season.

Although the Lunas’ girls have attracted most of the attention based on their status as the defending state Division-I champions and their current No. 4 state ranking, their boy’s counterparts are flying high, as well.

MauiNOW File Photo.

Last night, the boys rallied for a one-point deficit going into the fourth quarter to post a 48-37 road victory over Kamehameha.

Luke Williams scored 21 points for the Lunas, who improved the Lunas’ league record to 3-0 for a share of first place with Baldwin in the D-I standings.

The Lahianaluna girls, meantime, continue to crush league opponents, routing the Warriors 62-9 after jumping out to a 25-1 lead in the first quarter. The Lunas are 7-0 in league play.

Reigning state player of the year Maiki Viela scored 12 of her 20 points in the opening period.

The Molokai girls again flashed the form that earned them a state D-II title last season, improving its league mark to 2-0 following a 51-18 road rout of Lanai. Kalei Adolpho led the Lady Farmers with 32 points.

In soccer action, Kristine Kenagy scored an early goal for Seabury Hall and the Spartans held on for a 1-0 home victory over first-year Hana.

A double-header is on tap tonight at War Memorial Stadium between Lahainaluna and St. Anthony. The girls kick off at 5 o’clock, with the boys playing at 7.

UH FALLS SHORT: Hardly resembling a basketball team picked to finish last in the nine-team WAC, Hawaii gave three-time champion Utah State a scare before suffering a 74-66 setback last night.

UH shot exceptionally well against the Aggies, making a season-best 63.2 percent from the field – including 57.1 percent from behind the arc.

But Hawaii couldn’t overcome Utah State’s dominance on the boards.

The Aggies had a 32-13 rebounding edge, including 18-2 on the offensive end. That superiority inside also resulted in a huge difference in free throw attempts. The Aggies shot 25-of-30 from the stripe compared to UH’s 10-for-15.

UH suffered its worst WAC loss in school history in Logan last year, a 44-point blowout, but Gib Arnold’s team refused to go down easily.

Zane Johnson’s 3-pointer pulled UH within 61-59 with 3:17 to play. But Utah State took control when Brockeith Pane barely beat the shot clock with layup for a 69-64 with under a minute remaining. UH then had to resort to fouling and was unable to make up the deficit.

WAC pre-season player of the year Tai Wesley lived up to the hype, helping Utah State improve its overall record to 12-2 with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson matched his career-high with 24, while Hiram Thompson fouled out with 13 points, nine assists and one turnover.

The Bows will bid to end an 11-game road losing streak in Reno against struggling Nevada on Friday.

RAINBOW WAHINE: Rainbow Wahine freshman forward Kamilah Jackson continued to put up gaudy numbers last night, scoring 31 points and grabbing 25 rebounds in an 84-74 victory over Cal State Bakersfield. Senior point guard Keisha Kanekoa scored 22 to become the 16th player in the program’s history to reach the 1,000-point mark The former Honokaa standout . Both teams evened their season records: UH at 6-6 and Bakersfield at 9-9. UNLV (6-7) beat Columbia (0-11) 93-46 in the first game yesterday. UH concludes the three-day Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Invitational today at 7 p.m. against UNLV.