Raiders edge Punahou for ILH hoops title, 63-58
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
The gap between Hawai'i's No. 1-ranked high school boys basketball team and No. 2 got 29 points closer last night, as unbeaten Iolani held off upset-minded Punahou, 63-58, before an energized crowd of about 1,400 at Punahou's Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
Iolani, No. 1 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, routed the Buffanblu (tied for No. 2 with Mililani), 72-38, on Jan. 23.
Last night's victory clinched a fourth straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship for the Raiders, but the feeling afterward was more of survival than celebration.
"Punahou played a great game, and we were off today like nobody's business," said Raiders point guard Derrick Low, who finished with 14 hard-earned points. "But there's gonna be games like this down the stretch, so it was a good test for us. It'll build our character more than if we won by 20 or 30 points."
Not many games in the past four seasons have seen Iolani (13-0) pushed to the limit like last night's. The Buffanblu (11-2) led 49-48 midway through the fourth period and trailed 61-58 with six seconds left, when Ryan Hirata sank two free throws to seal the win.
In their Jan. 23 meeting, Punahou coach Greg Tacon said the Raiders' intense defensive pressure was the difference because it caused turnovers and prevented the Buffanblu from running their offense.
Last night, Punahou avoided Iolani's deadly halfcourt traps by throwing long but quick passes and finding the open man underneath for easy baskets.
"You can't be passive against them because they feed off of that," Tacon said. "We wanted to take advantage of their aggressiveness and match it by being aggressive ourselves."
The other main difference was a personnel change in which the Buffanblu used 6-foot-5 freshman Spencer McLachlin to bring the ball up the floor. McLachlin, who never had such a role until Monday's practice, surprisingly handled the pressure with only one turnover and contributed in almost every other facet. He finished with 11 points, five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist.
"He's a really good player now, but I shudder to think about how good he can be," Raiders coach Mark Mugiishi said.
In the end, though, it was Iolani's familiar faces putting them over the top. Low's layup put the Raiders up 52-51 with just under three minutes left, and they never trailed again.
Kyle Pape's free throws extended the lead to 61-55 with 33 seconds remaining, but Kasey Ko immediately answered with a three-point play with 26.7 seconds left.
Iolani then was able to play keepaway until Hirata was fouled with six ticks remaining.
Pape led all scorers with 19 points. Brenton Lee led Punahou with 13 points.
Iolani (13-0) 18 9 19 17—63
Punahou (11-2) 13 17 15 13—58
Iolani—Ryan Hirata 8, Vinny Nip 0, Todd Blankenship 7, Jon Yasuda 6, Derrick Low 14, Zach Tollefson 9, Kawika Shoji 0, Kyle Pape 19, Sean Carney 0, James Street 0. Totals 20 21-26 63.
PUNAHOU—Jeremiah Ostrowski 8, Storm Bridgewater 0, Danny Cho 2, Reid Fowler 6, Scott Otake 5, Brenton Lee 13, Morgan Ellsworth 4, Spencer McLachlin 11, Kasey Ko 9. Totals 23 9-14 58.
3-point goals—Iolani 2 (Pape 2). Punahou 3 (Otake, Fowler, McLachlin).
• DAMIEN 49, UNIVERSITY HIGH 45: Ranson DeCosta scored 15 points to lead the Monarchs to victory.
University High (4-9) 11 17 12 5—45
Damien (7-6) 10 10 13 16—49
UNIVERSITY—Scott Nishimoto 0, Al Clark 2, Michale Tenerio 2, James Cabras 3, Albert Li 0, Lucion Holyfeild 6, John Duro 14, David Johnson 18. Totals 17 8-10 45.
Damien—Antonio Cerezo Jr. 3, Justin Casil 7, Kawika Lopez 12, Ranson DeCosta 15, Fehi Sevelo 4, Tevita Williams 2, Keoni Steinhoff 6, Sione Tau 0, Brandon Kahale 0. Totals 19 4-7 49.
3-point goals—University High 3 (Johnson 3). Damien 7 (Cerezo, Casil, Lopez 2, DeCosta 3).
Reported by Steve Lewis
• KAMEHAMEHA 62, MARYKNOLL 44: Waika Spencer scored 19 points, lifting the Warriors to victory.
Kamehameha (7-6) 14 14 10 24—62
Maryknoll (1-12) 10 18 9 7—44
kamehameha—Ikaika Hardie 9, Keo Pacarro 2, Rykin Enos 8, Jacob Ho 0, Quincy Crowell 7, Mike Nii 0, Jacob Bode 0, Waika Spencer 19, Kapono Kuikahi 3, Ernie Vidinha 5, Ikaika Shelton 0, Gabriel Spencer 5, Kawika Hepa 4. Totals 26 6-13 62.
Maryknoll—Tyler Tsukazaki 12, Edward Kawahara 7, Riley Tang 14, Jordan Durant 0, Melcar Condes 0, Christopher Lum 0, Michael Toyama 2, Travis Yamane 2, Tommy Nguyen 7. Totals 16 9-17 44.
3-point goals—Kamehameha 4 (Enos 2, Hardie, Crowell). Maryknoll 3 (Kawahara, Tang, Nguyen).
Reported by Steve Lewis
• MID-PACIFIC 64, SAINT LOUIS 51: Chris Perry scored 18 points, leading the Owls to victory.
Mid-Pacific (6-7) 15 20 16 13—64
Saint Louis (3-10) 11 15 14 14—51
MID-PACIFIC—Burton Woodhull 1, Josh Mitchell 12, Chris Perry 18, Ryan Chun 7, JD Lum 0, Kellen Hastie 17, Chris Freshour 5, Bryson Beirne 4.
SAINT LOUIS—B.J. Batts 3, Bo Ronduen 6, Ikaika Nakoa 19, Ryan Brilhante 5, Keli'i Zablan 0, Stephen Lei 6, Bronson Abrigo 4, Brandon Vaa 6.
3-point goals—Mid-Pacific 1 (Freshour). Saint Louis 3 (Rondeun, Brilhante, Batts).
Division II
Iolani 46, Hawai'i Baptist 33. Iol: Cale Yamada 12, Kyson Morikuni 10. HBA: Will Stinton 13.
Saint Louis 73, Lanakila Baptist 60. SL: Oren Long 14. LB: Kiley Tanioka 18.
Punahou 49, Lutheran 47. Pun: Kainoa Higgins 17, Michael China 10. Luth: Amani Evenson 12, Matthew Uffmann 11.
Word of Life 51, Academy of Pacific 29. WOL: Shane Lawrence 12. AOP: Kaimana Komine 15.
Redemption Academy 72, ASSETS 28. RA: Anthony Troche 34, Ka'anoi Poouahi 15, Scott Duvauchelle 17. ASSETS: Nick Castello 11.
Hanalani 69, Christian Academy 32. Han: James Williams 13.
Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.
