Friday, February 26, 2010

Maui fans pumped about UH visit

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

Saturday's visit by the University of Hawaii men's volleyball team has caused quite a stir among fans on the Valley Isle. In fact, War Memorial Gym's capacity – estimated at 2,500 -- could be tested when the eighth-ranked Rainbows tangle with fourth-ranked BYU in a 5 p.m. match.  Part of attraction, of course, is that this is going to be a "real" match with implications in the powerful Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

 

A limited number of tickets are still available for purchase – while they last -- at the Pacific Radio Group offices at 311 Ano Street -- $8 for adults, $3 for ages 4 to 18.  Cash only.  Our offices close at 4 p.m.

 

Before then, the two teams will tangle tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.  BYU currently leads the conference with a 7-3 mark and is 9-4 overall.  Hawaii is 8-5 for the season and 4-4 in the MPSF.

 

PREP WRESTLING:  The Lahainaluna boys are regarded as serious contenders for a team title in the state wrestling championships that begin a two-day run this morning at the Blaisdell Arena.  Holden Mowatt, a 152-pounder, is the only MIL boy wrestler to gain a No. 1 seed, but five other Lunas are among the top four seeds in their respective weight classes. Maui High's Ty Estabilo is ranked second at 145.  On the girls' side, Lahainaluna's Gina-Bella Mataafa is ranked first at 175, while three other MIL athletes are seeded second.  They are:  Kazia Leckett of the Lunas at 103, Makanalani Hussey of the Lunas at 140, and Molokai's Chelsie David at 220.

 

UH HOOPS:  Count me among those who felt Bob Nash deserved the opportunity to succeed Riley Wallace as basketball head coach at UH.  But as we approach the end of Nash's third year on the job, it's fair to wonder if the former Rainbows' star and longtime assistant is in over his head.

 

Last night, Hawaii suffered its ninth straight loss, dropping a 61-50 decision to Utah State and tumbled into last place in the WAC with marks of 9-18 overall and 2-11 in the conference. 

 

The Aggies improved to 23-6 overall with their 13th consecutive victory, and are in first place in the WAC at 12-2

 

Hawaii has three regular-season games remaining, including Saturday's home finale against Nevada.  Frankly, I would be surprised if Nash is back on UH's bench next season – although, considering the athletic department's financial woes, maybe I shouldn't be.

 

Slightly more than one full season since reviving its baseball program, Oregon rolled into Les Murakami Stadium as the nation's 25th-ranked baseball team. 

 

The Ducks were brought down to earth last night as Hawaii parlayed a three-run first-inning, a solid mound outing by Nate Klein and a fifth-inning solo homer by Jeffrey Van Doornum for a 4-3 win. 

 

The four-game series continues tonight, with UH taking a 2-3 mark into the contest after going 1-3 in last week's season-opening series against 10th-ranked Oregon State.

 

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Kamehamea earns berth in state hoops

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

The Kamehameha boys can begin packing for next week's state basketball tournament on Oahu.  Baldwin, on the other hand, will simply have to pack it up for the season.

 

That's the bottom line for each of those programs in the wake of Tuesday night's playoff game for the MIL's second – and final – berth in the Division-I tournament that tips off on Wednesday.

 

Kekoa Turberville scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as Kamehameha defeated the cold-shooting Bears 45-39 at War Memorial Gym, offsetting a 15-point effort by Baldwin's Jordan Villanueva.

 

Lahainaluna earlier clinched the MIL's seeded berth in the D-I state tourney by edging Baldwin 32-30 in the final of the league tournament, while Seabury Hall went undefeated in the MIL to earn a berth in the scaled-down, eight-team D-II state event.

 

From the court to the mat:  The state wrestling championships to be held Friday and Saturday at Oahu's Blaisdell Center.

 

Fresh off its stunning upset of top-ranked Konawaena for the state D-I girls' basketball title, the Lahainaluna boys are projected to contend for the state wresting title.  The Lunas girls also won the MIL title.

 

OBITUARY: Mosi Totupu -- one of Hawaii's favorite football sons -- has passed away at the age of 54. 

 

Totupu was a legendary high school player at Punahou who went on to star at USC and became a fan favorite for the New England Patriots.  

 

At the time of his death, Tatupu, a native of American Samoa and considered one of the greatest pep athletes in the history of Hawaii, was running backs coach at Curry College in Milton, Mass.

 

Tatupu had also coached his son Lofa Tatupu -- now a linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks – in high school. 

 

During an exceptional career at Punahou, Tatupu was an all-state selection in football, basketball and baseball.

 

But it was on the gridiron where Mosi Tatupu made a lasting mark in local legend, at one time holding state records for single-season and career yardage and scoring totals. 

 

He became a starter at USC in his sophomore season, and later embarked on a successful 13-year career as a bruising fullback and a special teams standout with the Patriots. 

 

At one point, he played in 169 consecutive NFL games.

 

Besides being a ferocious competitor on the field, Tatupu possessed an exceptionally friendly and engaging personality.  He was regarded as one of the most popular players among both his teammates and fans in New England.  

Monday, February 22, 2010

Lunas girls win state hoops title

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

If was a night to remember for fans of Lahainaluna. 

 

The Lunas girls became the first MIL team to win a state Division-I basketball title, rallying past and then holding off defending champion Konawaena 47-45 on Friday night before a crowd of more than 2,300 at the Blaisdell Arena and a statewide television audience.

 

Konawaena appeared to be in control, leading 22-15 at halftime and 37-26 with a minute left in the third period.

 

But Milika Taufa, the Lunas' 6-foot-3 senior center, answered with a layup and then scored seven straight points early in the fourth quarter to help Lahainaluna tie it at 37-37 with 5:38 left in the game.

 

Taufa, who finished with 26 points, later scored six straight to put the Lunas ahead, 46-39, with 1:51 remaining. 

 

Lahainaluna held on for the win, sealing the deal when Maiki Viela made one of two free throws with eight seconds left an coming up with a big defensive play as time expired.

 

Taufa was named the outstanding player, while Viela – a junior point guard – was chosen on the all-tournament team.

 

Later in the evening at War Memorial Gym, the Lunas boys beat Baldwin 32-30 on a 15-foot jumper by TJ Rickard with four seconds left to clinch the MIL overall title. 

 

Baldwin will meet Kamehameha on Tuesday in a 7 p.m. game at War Memorial for the MIL's second berth in the upcoming D-I state tourney, which starts next Wednesday on Oahu. 

 

Earlier on Friday, Seabury Hall pulled away in the second half for a 53-33 win over Molokai to claim the MIL D-II overall title.  Dylan King scored 19 for the Spartans, while teammate Michael Palmer scored 10 of his 14 in the second half while dishing off six assists after intermission.

 

Things didn't go as well for the Molokai girls, who fell short in their bid to repeat as D-II champs by suffering a 41-32 loss to Kaimuki despite Kalei Adolpho's 12 points and 13 rebounds.  But the Farmers had no answer for Dejah Faasoa, who led the Bulldogs with 20 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.

 

UH HOOPS: The disaster that has become the University of Hawaii's basketball season continued on Saturday night.  The Rainbows suffered their eighth straight setback in a 102-89 loss to the visiting Cal Poly that wasn't as close as the final score indicates.

 

The Rainbows trailed by 23 in the first half, and never got closer than eight points as their overall record plunged to 9-17 before a mere 2,669 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center.

 

In the process, UH squandered the best game of Roderick Flemings' career.  The senior swingman finished with 39 points on 15-of-30 shooting, including 25 in the second half.  Petras Balocka added 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Bows.

 

The 'Bows will remain at home for their final two WAC home games of the season, hosting Utah State on Thursday and Nevada next Saturday.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Lunas, Farmers open state title bids

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

After totally dominating their league opponents this basketball season, two highly-regarded MIL teams open title bids in their respective state girls' tournaments Wednesday on Oahu.  

 

Defending champion Molokai is seeded No. 1 in Division-II while Lahainaluna is seeded No. 2 in Division I.  Both drew byes into the quarterfinals.

 

Lahainhaluna faces Roosevelt in a 5 p.m. game at Radford High.  The Rough Riders advanced with a 62-49 win over Mililani.

 

Molokai meets Kaiser in a 5 p.m. quarterfinal game at Kalani High.  Kaiser opened with a 54-38 win over Hawaii Baptist. 

 

Both of the MIL's other qualifiers suffered opening round losses.

 

In a D-I game, Kapolei pulled out a 37-35 win over Baldwin.  Malia Chang led the Bears with 13 points and eight rebounds. 

 

Baldwin made just 3 of 19 shots from the field in the first half – but managed to keep things close at intermission, trailing 16-13, by making seven of 10 free throws, and actually led in the third quarter.

 

The loss dropped Baldwin into the consolation bracket, with the Bears facing Pearl City, which lost its opener 51-46 to Iolani.

 

Despite 28 points – including four 3-pointers -- by Sierra Jacobs, Seabury had no answer for HPA's Tayler Wang in the D-II tourney.  Wang scored 36 in leading Ka Makani to a 55-41 win over the Spartans.  Seabury next faces University High.

 

BOY'S HOOPS:  The MIL boys will stage their league tournaments starting Wednesday at War Memorial Gym with a pair of play-in games.  Hana meets St. Anthony in a D-II showdown at 5:30, followed by Maui High versus King Kekaulike in a D-I game at 7 o'clock. Semifinals are set for Thursday, with the finals on Friday.  The state tournaments for boys are scheduled for March 3-6 on Oahu.

 

VOLLEYBALL:  Hawaiian Style's 18-and-under girls volleyball team captured the silver division title in the Las Vegas Classic yesterday, winning all three of its matches on the final day of the competition.

 

SOCCER:  Two teams from Maui captured championships in the President's Day Cup youth soccer tournament held over the holiday weekend at the Waipio   Complex on Oahu.

 

The Maui United 99 Red boys took top honors with a 1-0 victory over Rush Nike in the championship game, and didn't allow a goal in six matches.   Maui United defeated the Kula Thunder 2-0 in the semifinals.

 

The Excel 99 team won the under-9 crown, defeating Abunai 4-3 in the title game.

 

The Maui United under-10 girls also reached the semis, suffering a 2-0 loss to the Crew.

 

UH HOOPS:  The University of Hawaii men and women continued to struggle over the weekend.

 

The Rainbows suffered their seventh straight setback with an 88-64 loss at New Mexico State despite a 25-point, 11-rebound performance by Roderick Flemings.  UH dropped to 9-16 overall and 2-10 in the WAC.

 

The Rainbow Wahine also lost, falling 76-56 to Nevada.  Keisha Kanekoa had 14 points for UH, but couldn't prevent her team from suffering its sixth loss in seven games and falling to 0-6 in conference road games.  Hawaii is now 9-16 overall and 3-9 in the WAC.

 

LOCAL BOYS: Former Baldwin High backcourt mates Cody Tesoro and Matt Heyd are enjoying success in their final seasons of college basketball.

 

Tesoro is averaging a team-high 17.8 points and also leads Linfield in assists, steals and 3-pointers. 

 

He scored 20 in Linfield's 74-70 weekend win over George Fox as Wildcats maintained sole possession of second place in the D-III Northwest Conference.

 

Tesoro erupted for a career-high 36 – including eight 3-pointers -- in a recent 105-93 loss to NWC leader Willamette.

 

Following a slow start, Linfield has evened its overall record at 11-11 and is 9-5 in conference play.

 

Matt Heyd is averaging 10.5 points for La Verne, including 22 in a recent loss to Cal Lutheran.  The Leopards are 7-15 this season, including 3-8 in the D-III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.