The O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion and No. 2-seeded Bulldogs improved to 13-5 in the regular and post-season and will face Interscholastic League of Honolulu champ and No. 1 seed Punahou (13-1) in Friday's title game.

Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised live statewide on OC-16.

"It feels great, we've been working hard all season, and all off-season, just to get back to this point," said Kaimuki senior forward Keone Reyes, who finished with a game-high 27-points and four assists last night. "We're more than confident, this is the best we've ever felt."

The Bulldogs, who lost to 'Iolani, 54-41, in last year's title game, returned three key seniors in Reyes, forward Beau Albrechtson and guard Daniel Colon. But Albrechtson was saddled with foul trouble and played only eight minutes in the first half last night.

That helped the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion and No. 3-seeded Warriors (16-3) keep pace and even take a 36-32 lead going into the fourth period.

But Colon started the final quarter with a driving layup, igniting a 13-2 run that put Kaimuki ahead, 45-38, with 2 1/2 minutes to go. Kamehameha-Hawai'i closed to 45-42 on Reece Alnas' banker with 1:35 remaining, but Albrechtson

and Reyes combined to make six straight free throws over the next minute to give the Bulldogs a 51-42 lead.

Reyes, a 6-foot, 255-pound power forward, finished the night making 10 of 14 field goals, mostly in the low post, and 7 of 11 free throws.

"Keone was hard to stop," Warriors coach Nelson Wong said. "We tried playing straight man, we tried playing support defense, but that spin move is something we don't see a lot of on the Big Island. He's their main guy down low, and he showed why."