Iolani Basketball: The Streak is Over!
The Iolani Boys Basketball team ended its streak of 5 consecutive state championships last night with a 57-54 loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii. This loss marks their first postseason defeat since 2001 when the Raiders fell to the Kalaheo Mustangs in the finals of Derrick Low’s freshman year.
Having defeated the Warriors by a close margin early in the preseason, Iolani knew to expect a tough battle from the BIIF champions, but didn’t quite expect to shoot 16 of 39 (41%) from the freethrow line in the loss. Only down 6 at the half after shooting 31% from the field including 0-6 from three, the Raiders gave up 7 consecutive points on their first two defensive possessions of the second half - made foul shot, offensive rebound and 3-pointer, then 3-point play layup - and got down by as much as 14 before making a comeback near the end of the 3rd quarter.
In the fourth, Iolani stormed back hitting five 3-pointers in the period to cut the lead to 54-52 with just 14.9 seconds remaining, but were forced to foul and Kamehameha was able to hit just enough freethrows down the stretch to close the game.
Senior Ryan Dung had one final opportunity to tie the game from three-quarter court, but his shot was blocked. Fellow senior Case Miyahira led the Raiders with 16 points including three 3-pointers (all in the 4th quarter) and junior Taylor Mounts contributed 10 points and grabbed 13 boards. Full Box Score »
[Photo: Honolulu Advertiser]
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