Friday, January 29, 2010

One match impacts three teams

By Fred Guzman

MauiNow.com

 

It's not often that a single soccer match has so much impact on some many MIL teams.

 

But the result of Saturday's 2 p.m. showdown between King Kekaulike and Seabury Hall impacts three teams and will determine two titles.   All three teams have already punched their tickets to the state tournament.

 

Kekaulike needs a win to capture the overall and D-I titles.  Seabury, which already has clinched the D-II crown, needs a win to take the overall championship.

 

Lurking on the sidelines is Baldwin, which has completed its league season.  If Kekaulike and Seabury tie, the Bears take both the overall and D-I titles.  Got all that?

 

The Seabury girls need a win in one of their final two matches at Molokai to secure the D-II title and a berth at the state tournament.

 

The MIL swimming and diving championships will be held Friday and Saturday at the Kihei Aquatic Center.

 

PREP HOOPS:  Lahainaluna, the state's second-ranked girls' basketball team, completed an unbeaten MIL regular-season last night by romping to a 70-44 win over King Kekaulike as Milika Taufa scored 21 points.

 

In the late game at the Lahaina Civic, the Lunas boys maintained their hold on the Division-I lead, improving to 7-1 with a 51-44 win over Na Alii.  Lucas Williams scored 15 for the Lunas.

 

The Baldwin boys kept within striking distance of the Lunas in the D-I standings by pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 45-35 win over visiting Maui High as Jordan Villanueva scored 20 points for the Bears, who improved to 5-2.

 

In the earlier girls' game, Baldwin beat the Sabers 33-24.  Malia Chang scored 12 to lead the Bears.

 

UH ROUNDUP:  More than a few fans took exception when the WAC basketball coaches picked Hawaii to finish last this season.  Based on what's transpired so far, they may have known of what they voted on.

 

Last night, the Rainbows fell to 2-6 in the conference, and 9-12  overall, following an 83-60 road spanking at the hands of San Jose State. 

 

Leading the way for the Spartans, was Adrian Oliver.  The 6-4 guard, who missed a key free throw in an earlier loss at UH, scored 33 points in the victory.

 

Since that game on Jan. 17, these two teams have headed in different directions.  San Jose State has won three straight, improving to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in the WAC.   The Bows have falled to seventh in the nine-team WAC, just one game ahead of last-place Boise State.

 

Hawaii again struggled from the outside, making just 1 of 10 from 3-point range and are 2-for-23 from long range in the last two losses.  UH also was awful from the stripe, making just 9 of 21 free throws.

 

Roderick Flemings scored 19 points to lead the 'Bows. Jeremy Lay added 12 points and four assists, and Brandon Adams contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

 

Hawai'i played its fourth game without junior guard Dwain Williams. He is expected to miss Saturday's game at Nevada.  The game will tip off at 5 p.m., Hawaii, and will be aired on ESPN 550 and televised nationally on ESPNU.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

UH awarded 2011 volleyball regional

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

The logic behind the awarding of NCAA women's volleyball tournament sites continues to amaze me. 

 

Citing a desire to reduce costs, the NCAA almost invariably forces the University of Hawaii's women to play on the road in the post-season before generally small crowds in nearly empty gyms. 

 

This despite the fact that the Rainbow Wahine consistently lead the nation in attendance.   During the past season, Hawaii averaged 6,227 per match.  Nebraska was second at 5,728, Minnesota third at 4,692, followed by Wisconsin at 3,707, Texas at 3,304 and defending champion Penn State sixth at 3,070.

 

But despite those impressive numbers, the Rainbow Wahine were forced to travel to Los Angeles for the sub-regional hosted by USC, which averaged less than 1,000 fans per match, and then advanced to the regional at Stanford, which ranked 12th in attendance at 2,085.

 

Thankfully, the NCAA is seeking to make amends for its shortsighted approach by naming the Stan Sheriff Center as a venue for the 2011 regionals. It will mark the first time UH has hosted a regional since 2006.

 

PREP HOOPS:  Baldwin can't afford any missteps if it hopes to overtake Lahainaluna in the MIL Division-I basketball standings. 

 

The Bears trail the Lunas by 1.5 games going into tonight's 7 o'clock game against visiting Maui High.  You can follow the action on Maui's ESPN550 and via the internet on espn550.com.

 

The Sabers again demonstrated they are a dangerous opponent earlier this week, extending the Lunas into overtime before suffering a 72-66 loss.  That result improved Lahainaluna's MIL mark to 6-1.  Baldwin is 4-2, while Kamehameha-Maui is 4-3 and the Sabers dropped to 3-4.

 

PREP SOCCER: In the season finale for both teams, a pair of second-half goals led the Maui High boys to a 2-0 win over Lahainaluna last night at War Memorial Stadium.  In the girls' match, the Lunas edged the Sabers 2-0. 

 

The state tournament-bound Kekaulike girls posted a 3-0 win over Seabury Hall, which needs a win in its final two matches of the season at Molokai to secure the D-II title and a berth in states.

 

PREP SWIMMING:  The MIL swimming and diving championships are schedule for Friday and Saturday at the Kihei Aquatic Center.

 

COLLEGE HOOPS:  The improvement is hardly dramatic, but significant nevertheless for the UH women's basketball team.  Led by Keisha Kanekoa's 12 points, the Rainbow Wahine posted a 63-49 home win over San Jose State last night.  The win improved UH's overall record to 9-12, bettering the team's victory total of all last year.  The Wahine are 3-5 in the WAC.

 

The UH men are at San Jose State tonight, facing a team that has been on a roll since suffering 68-67 loss at the Stan Sheriff Center.  Since then, the Rainbows lost two straight at home – against LaTech and New Mexico State -- and dipped to 9-11 overall and 2-5 in the WAC.  After returning home from the close loss to UH, the Spartans posted back-to-back wubs against – you guessed it – LaTech and New Mexico State – to improve their record to 11-8 overall and 4-3 in the WAC.  Leading San Jose State's recent surge is Adrian Oliver, who erupted for 39 against LaTech and 22 versus the Aggies.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Lunas take lead in MIL D-I hoops

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

Sam Kiek made the second of his two free throw attempts with 3.6 seconds left and Lahianaluna then survived a 30-foot shot by Baldwin's Jordan Villanueva that spun around the rim as time expired to secure a 40-39 victory over the visiting Bears on Friday night.

 

The win enabled the Lunas to move into first place in the MIL Division-I basketball standings with a 5-1 record.  Baldwin is second at 4-2, while Maui High and Kamehameha are tied for third at 3-3 following the Sabers' comeback from a 10-point deficit going into the final quarter to post a 45-41 win over the Warriors.

 

In soccer, King Kekaulike held on for a 2-2 tie against Kamehameha to clinch second place in the MIL D-I girls standings and a berth in the state tournament.  Baldwin earlier clinched the D-I crown.

 

In the boy's match, Jesse Hinton's three goals enabled Kekaulike to survive a 5-3 shootout with the Warriors.  The win gave Na Alii  a 1-point lead over Baldwin in the D-I standings. 

 

D-II champ Seabury Hall is tied with Kekaulike at 23 points for the overall title with all three teams playing their final regular-season games this week.  Baldwin faces Kamehameha on Tuesday; Seabury and Kekaulike tangle on Wednesday

 

Lahainaluna continued its dominance of MIL wrestling, with the boys winning eight of 14 individual titles and the girls four of 10 events during a meet hosted by Kamehameha.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Shane cashes in: 3 years, $22 million

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

Going into the arbitration process, Shane Victorino, who earned slightly more than $3.1 million last season, was assured of a big pay raise for the coming baseball season.

 

The Phillies were offering their All-Star and Gold Glove center fielder from Maui $4.75 million.  Victorino was seeking $5.8 million.  As things turned out, Victorino will go from rich to richer after reportedly reaching agreement on a three-year deal that will pay him $22 million over the life of the contract.

 

Shane was coming off a strong season with the two-time defending National League champs, hitting a team-high .292 with 39 doubles, 13 triples, 10 home runs, 62 RBIs and 25 steals  He also won a second straight Gold Glove and was voted to the NL All-Star team.

 

UH ROUNDUP:  Things didn't end as well for Hawaii hoops star Roderick Flemings on his 23rd birthday.  Flemings had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Bows last night, but New Mexico State stormed back from a 40-28 halftime deficit to hand Hawaii a heart-breaking 71-69 loss at the Stan Sheriff Center.  Jahmar Young spoiled the apparent victory party for Flemings by hitting an 18-foot jumper with 0.9 seconds left.  Young finished with 26 points as the Aggies improved to 12-7 overall and 5-1 in the WAC.  UH fell to 9-10 overall and 2-4 in conference going into Saturday's home game against LaTech, which suffered its first WAC loss in an 87-76 defeat at San Jose State.

 

The Rainbow Wahine rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit last night, pulling to within 10 at one point, only to suffer a 75-62 road loss to Louisiana Tech.  Junior Allie Patterson come off the bench to lead UH with 18 points as the Bows dropped to 8-11 overall and 2-4 in the WAC going into Saturday's game at Boise State.

 

PREP ROUNDUP:  Seabury Hall remained in contention for the MIL boy's soccer title with a 2-0 victory over Maui High. … In basketball, the Maui High girls rallied to a 44-41 win over King Kekaulike while the Sabers' boys beat Kekaulike 39-36.