KAILUA — Buoyed by "Mr. Inside" Matt Gasparine's handywork in the paint and "Mr. Outside" Aaron Fernandez raining 3-pointers from different spots around the arc, Kalaheo raced past Kaimuki, 66-60, last night in O'ahu Interscholastic Association boys basketball action.

The Mustangs improved to 2-0 in the OIA Red Conference Eastern Division, with another showdown tomorrow night at Kahuku (2-0). Kaimuki, which lost to Kahuku in its regular-season opener, fell to 0-2.

Kalaheo had edged Farrington, 46-43 in overtime, in its OIA Red East opener last week.

"We needed that win," said Gasparine, a sturdy 6-foot-1 senior forward who finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds last night. "We had the momentum, and we knew Kaimuki was coming off a loss, so we thought it would be hard for them."

Fernandez, a 6-2 junior guard who had a game-high 29 points including seven 3-pointers, presented the outside threat with 16 points in the first half. Thirteen of those came in the second period, including three 3-pointers.

His 3-pointer from the left corner put the Mustangs up, 21-11, two minutes into the second quarter, but the Bulldogs rallied to close it to 28-26 by halftime after center Desmond Tautofi scored on a layup with six seconds remaining.

Kaimuki eventually took a 35-34 lead early in the third period, but Tautofi picked up his third and fourth fouls in the process and was sent to the bench. That opened things up inside for Gasparine, who scored nine points in the quarter to help Kalaheo take a 47-39 lead into the fourth.

Gasparine then added seven points in the final period to help hold off a couple Bulldog rallies.

"(Gasparine) killed us," Kaimuki coach Kelly Grant said. "(Fernandez) shot the lights out, but it was (Gasparine) who dominated, because when we missed shots, he would be there to get the rebounds we needed."

The Bulldogs got as close as 63-60 after Tevin Nishiyama's 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, but Fernandez, Richard Preza-Haynes and Gasparine each hit free throws to seal the victory.

Ryan Kakitani led Kaimuki with 17 points, David Taulung added 13 points, Tautofi had 12 points and Nishiyama contributed 10 points.

"Kaimuki is very good, and I knew we would need some sort of stellar effort to win," Mustangs coach Chico Furtado said. "I was hoping it would be on defense, but Aaron shot the lights out and Matt was awesome under the boards."

KAIMUKI (0-2) 9 17 13 21 — 60

KALAHEO (2-0) 13 15 19 19 — 66

KAIMUKI — Tevin Nishiyama 10, David Taulung 13, Ryan Kakitani 17, Clay Montiho 0, Gabriel Steitzel 0, Kelly Tobin 6, Dayton Ortiz 2, Desmond Tautofi 12, Elijah Morita 0. Totals 18 20-23 60.

KALAHEO — Kevin Leong 0, Richard Preza-Haynes 9, Christian Kepa 3, Kona Makaula 2, Shawn Hipa 0, Aaron Fernandez 29, Matt Gasparine 23, Carlos Craig 0. Totals 22 15-27 66.

3-point goals: Kaimuki 4 (Nishiyama 3, Kakitani). Kalaheo 7 (Fernandez 7).

JV-Kaimuki 43, Kalaheo 37

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