Fifth-Place Finale: King Kekaulike vs. Baldwin at State

King Kekaulike’s Chase Iwata-Bartelme scored a season-high 23 points on Friday against Mililani. Rodney S. Yap File Photo.

By Rodney S. Yap

It will be their fifth meeting of the season, and this time for fifth-place in the state.

King Kekaulike (15-1) and Baldwin (12-5) high schools will cap their 2013 season Saturday at the Hawaiian Airlines Boys Basketball Championships on Oahu. Tipoff is 1 p.m. at the Neal Blaisdell Arena.

The two Maui Interscholastic League representatives won their respective games Friday; thus, setting up one last head-to-head battle. King Kekaulike celebrated its first MIL Division I championship earlier this month and won the previous four games against Baldwin — the last one (58-46) earned Na Alii the MIL Tournament title on Feb. 8.

Junior swingman Chase Iwata-Bartelme scored a season-high 23 points to lift King Kekaulike over Mililani, 67-50, on Friday. Senior center Jacob Havron added 14 points and classmate Gabe Gunter chipped in 12 for the Upcountry school.

Baldwin got another stellar performance at both ends of the court from Teva Eldridge, who led all scorers with a career-high 31 points. Ryan Garces also had a hot-hand offensively, contributing a season-high 19 points.

Iwata-Bartelme connected on a 3-pointer with a minute left in the first quarter as King Kekaulike built a 12-point lead, 22-10. Iwata-Bartelme dropped nine points in that decisive first period.

King Kekaulike led 53-38 after three quarters and padded its lead to 16 points, 56-40, midway through the fourth quarter before Jordan Mauliola’s buzzer-beater capped the scoring. Point guard Jansen Agapay saw limited action because of a injury he suffered in Thursday’s 56-32 loss to Punahou. He added nine points.

Baldwin High School’s Ryan Garces, shown here against Kapolei on Wednesday, chipped in 19 points in the Bears’ 58-49 win Friday against Pearl City. Ben Juan / Juan Shot File Photo.

Mililani’s Ian Namu finished with a team-high 18 points.

Eldridge and Garces accounted for all but eight of Baldwin’s 58 points Friday. The 6-foot-2 Eldridge has 68 points in three tournament games, raising his production everyday. For example, the junior struggled at the free-throw line on Wednesday, shooting 47.1% (8-17), but he missed just two attempts since connecting on 20 of 22, including a perfect 13 for 13 against the Chargers.

Eldridge, who likes to lead by example, got much-needed help from Garces as senior center Bradley Bowlin was forced to nurse a swollen left ankle for the second straight day. His status for Saturday’s game with King Kekaulike is doubtful. Garces closed out the third quarter by completing a 3-point play and Eldridge opened the fourth quarter with a 3-point play of his own. His layup with six minutes to play in the game capped an 8-0 run as Baldwin outscored the Chargers in the final frame 22-14. Remarkable when you consider Philip Thomas also did not play for the Bears Friday and point guard Kody Takushi struggled passing the ball and was held scoreless.

Division I Fifth-Place Semifinal

At Neal Blaisdell Arena

King Kekaulike   22  16  15  14  —  67

Mililani                 10  16  12  12  —  50

King Kekaulike (67)

Jansen Agapay 9, Aaron Monoogan 0, Junell Alfonso 0, Alroy Ferreira 0, Chase Iwata-Bartelm 23, Elijah Engoring 0, Colton Beesley 0, Austin Ferreira 7, Logan Birch 0, Jordan Mauliola 2, Jacob Havron 14, Gabe Gunter 12. Totals 25 12-19 67. 3-pointers, Kekaulike 5 (Iwata-Bartelme 3, Agapay, Ferreira).

Mililani (50)

Chedan Pascual 0, Jeremy Rozmeski 0, Jason Calabrese 2, Sylvester Panoncillo 1, Peter Bueno 9, Cody Sison 3, Elijah Gambol 4, Ian Namu 18, Riley Borges 2, Noel Bueno 11, Sean Fitzgerald 0. Totals 20  8-13  50. 3-pointers, Mililani 2 (P. Bueno, N. Bueno).

Division I Fifth-Place Semifinal

At Neal Blaisdell Arena

Pearl City  12  8  15  14  —  49

Baldwin    11  11  14  22 — 58

Pearl City (49)

Isaac Amorin 15, Eric Dela Pena 0, Garette Kanamu Jr. 2, Reymart Rosario 2, Tyson Hickox 8, Zachary Kaya 5, Sonny Glisson 11, Dalcorri Briscoe 2, Bryce Shafer 0, Shandy Reyes 0, Tyler Canon 0, Bryson Galdeira 0, P-Jay Solomon 4. Totals 19  9-17 49.

Baldwin (58)

Kody Takushi 0, Jacob Valle 0, Taje Akaka 0, Jeremiah Badillo 4, Mathew DeMichele 4, Ryan Garces 19, Ginel Mateo 0, Randy Wong 0, Kainalu Rundle 0, Teva Eldridge 31, Josaiah Warren 0. Totals 20 18-20 58. 3-pointers, Pearl City 2 (Amorin, Glisson).