Bears, Na Alii Both Fall in Quarterfinals at State

Baldwin High School’s Teva Eldridge, shown here in Wednesday’s game against Kapolei, finished with a game-high 21 points on Thursday against Maryknoll. Ben Juan / Juan Shot Photo.

By Rodney S. Yap

Top-seeded Maryknoll High School put an exclamation point on its 64-54 win over Baldwin on Thursday with a conclusive slam dunk by Joshua Burnett with about 1 minute, 30 seconds left in their quarterfinal match at McKinley Gym.

Burnett, a 6-foot-4 junior forward who did not play in the Spartans’ preseason victory (35-32) over the Bears in late December, made a huge impact this time around, finishing with 13 points and was one of three Maryknoll starters to score in double-digits.

The Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions, who previously played in the state tournament in 1988, improved to 24-2 overall and 9-0 in quarterfinal games. The Spartans face fourth-seeded Konawaena in Friday’s 7 p.m. semifinal at the Blaisdell Arena.

Unseeded Punahou will meet Kalaheo in the early semifinal at 5 p.m. The Buffanblu ran away from King Kekaulike 56-32 after the two teams fought evenly through the first quarter with Punahou ahead 10-8.

King Kekaulike’s Jacob Havron tied the game at 10-10 with a layup to open the second quarter, but the more experienced Buffanblu — making their 39th appearance in the state tournament compared to King Kekaulike’s second visit — used a strong defensive effort to spark a 9-0 run and a commanding 22-12 lead. The spurt was the first of several Punahou executed in the second half against the stubborn Na Alii from the Valley Isle.

Friday’s consolation bracket features Baldwin against Pearl City at 1 p.m., followed by King Kekaulike and Mililani at 3 p.m. ESPN 550AM Radio will broadcast both games involving Maui’s teams as the Hawaiian Airlines Boys Basketball Championships moves to the Neal Blaisdell Arena for the next two days.

The only Maui Interscholastic League team to win Thursday was Seabury Hall in overtime (59-56) against University High.

The unseeded Bears put forth a spirited effort, despite playing without 6-foot-3 center Bradley Bowlin due to an ankle injury he suffered on Wednesday against Kapolei. Teva Eldridge had another outstanding game despite being hit with early foul trouble, finishing with a game-high 21 points, 19 coming in the second half. Junior Philip Thomas helped fill the void left by Bowlin’s absence with 15 points.

In the end, however, the Spartans used their height to dominate the low post, getting plenty of second chance baskets while drawing fouls. Maryknoll out rebounded Baldwin, 35-24. Eldridge and Thomas, who are both 6-foot-2, were no match for Maryknoll’s 6-foot-9 center Tobias Schramm and 6-foot-5 forward Hyrum Harris. The pair accounted for 26 rebounds, with Harris grabbing 19.

Baldwin never quit, crawling to within four points, 56-51, when Thomas completed a 3-point play with 43.9 seconds remaining in the game.

Caleb Gilmore poured in a team-high 20 points for Maryknoll and Schramm added 14.

Part of the reason Baldwin fouled so much was because Maryknoll struggled at the free-throw line. As a team, the Spartans finished 23 of 44, while their bigs Schramm and Harris combined for 7 of 21.

“We settled down and made the baskets when we needed them in the fourth quarter,” said Gilmore. “Joshua’s dunk gave us the momentum we needed to finish.”

King Kekaulike’s Havron finished with 11 points and Chase Iwata-Bartelme had 10, including a pair of 3-pointers.

The OC16 Impact Player of the Game was Nick Velasquez, who scored 11 of his 19 points in the third quarter, as Punahou eventually built a 24-point lead and both teams empty their respective benches down the stretch.

Division I Quarterfinal Games

At Moanalua Gym

Thursday’s Game Summary

PUNAHOU               10   17   16   13  — 56

KING KEKAULIKE   8    11     8     5  — 32

PUNAHOU (56)

Randon Oda 1 0-0 3, Jordan Tanuvasa 0 1-2 1, Jared Lum 0 0-0 0, Micah Ma’a 1 1-2 3, Justin Kam 3 0-0 6, Dayson Watanabe 0 0-0 0, Zach Grief 0 0-0 0, Kala’i Santos 1 0-0 2, Daniel Andrews 6 0-0 12, Kanawai Noa 1 0-0 2, Nick Velasquez 7 2-2 19, Ronley Lakalaka 0 0-0 0, Blake Lyon 0 0-0 0, Kupono Fey 3 2-2 8, Davis Miyashiro‐Saipa’ia 0 0-0 0, Canton Kaumatule 0 0-0 0, Semisi Uluave 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 6-8 56. 3-pointers, 4 (Velasquez 3, Oda).

KING KEKAULIKE (32)

Jansen Agapay 1 3-4 5,  Aaron Monoogan 0 0-0 0, Junell Alfonso 0 0-0 0, Alroy Ferreira 0 1-2 1, Chase Iwata‐Bartelme 4 0-0 10, Elijah Engoring 0 0-0 0, Colton Beesley 0 0-0 0, Austin Ferreira 0 0-0 0, Logan Birch 0 0-0 0, Jordan Mauliola 1 0-0 2, Jacob Havron 5 1-1 11, Gabe Gunter 1 1-3 3. Totals 12 6-10 32. 3-pointers,  2 (Iwata-Bartelme 2).

At McKinley Gym

Thursday’s Game Summary

Maryknoll  13   12   8   31  — 64 

Baldwin     12   11   8   23  — 54

Maryknoll (64)

Danny Danbara 9, Kaleb Gilmore 20, Joshua Burnett 13, Hyrum Harris 7, Tobias Schramm 14, Tobias Powell 0, Tamamoko Green 1, Johnny Meyer0, Tyson Kaloa 0, Sean Ogata 0, Varrick Suezaki 0, Mickey Morikawa 0. Totals 19 23-44 64. 3-pointers, 3 (Gilmore 2, Danbara). Technicals, 2 (Gilmore, Bench).

Baldwin (54)

Kody Takushi 8, Ryan Garces 8, Philip Thomas 15, Randy Wong 0, Teva Eldridge 21, Jeremiah Badillo 0, Jacob Valle 2, Kainalu Rundle 0, Taje Akaka 0. Totals 18 14-18 54. 3-pointers, 4 (Takushi 2, Eldridge 2). Fouled out, Garces, Wong. Technical, 1 (Wong).