Henry Cassiday, Manti Te'o and Kameron Steinhoff scored 11 points apiece to lead visiting Punahou to a 46-44 win over Kamehameha at Kekuhaupi'o Gym last night.

The Buffanblu, ranked second in The Advertiser's Top 10 Poll, improved to 9-2, earned a state berth and kept its Interscholastic League of Honolulu title hopes alive. Fourth-ranked Kamehameha dropped to 8-4.

If Punahou beats Maryknoll today, it will force a one-game playoff with 'Iolani Friday. Third-ranked 'Iolani finished the ILH regular season at 10-2 with a win over Saint Louis last night and also clinched a state tournament berth.

"This was really a big win," Steinhoff said. "A loss could have put the ILH — even states — out of reach. I think this win will set the tempo for the rest of the season."

Blake Viena's layup with 2:58 to play cut the Buffanblu lead to 44-42. Punahou answered with a bucket by Robbie Toma with 1:12 to play.

Auwae DeRego made both free throws on the Warriors' next possession to make it 46-44 with 56 seconds left.

Punahou missed an opportunity to extend its lead after a traveling violation, but the Buffanblu defense buckled down.

Steinhoff led the way, blocking a Brandon Dumlao shot attempt with under 40 seconds to play and Kamehameha's last attempt — a 3-pointer by Dumlao — rimmed out.

"(Steinhoff) grabbed some huge rebounds and a couple big blocks," said Buffanblu coach Dan Hale. "He's been that way for us all season."

The Buffanblu were wary of the Warriors' accuracy from beyond the arc after they hit seven 3-pointers — all by Kawika Lyons — the last time they met.

"We tried to trap him when he got the ball, but some of their other guys stepped up and made some big shots," Te'o said. "We knew this would be a tough game coming here. They came out hard, but we're glad to come out with a victory."

Said Hale: "They've got some great shooters, but we tried to play tough defense and we were fortunate tonight."

Viena, Lyons and Pi'i Minns scored eight points each to lead Kamehameha, which led 22-21 at halftime.

Punahou used a 9-0 third-quarter run en route to a 36-32 lead to start the fourth.

PUNAHOU (9-2) 15 6 15 10 — 46

KAMEHAMEHA (8-4) 10 12 10 12 — 44

PUNAHOU — Dalton Hilliard 4, Robert Toma 7, Shane Yoshiyama 0, Henry Cassiday 11, Mantai Te'o 11, Kameron Steinhoff 11, Trevor Crabb 2. Totals 18 8-14 46.

KAMEHAMEHA — Kauila Miller 0, Edward Kamano 2, Jonathan Hew-Len 0, Kawika Lyons 8, Chaz Bajet 0, Brandon Dumlao 7, Pi'i Minns 8, Auwae DeRego 6, Shawn Bode 0, Blake Viena 8, Damien Kaehuaea 0, Kamakoa Jovanovich 5. Totals 17 6-10 44.

3-point goals: Punahou 2 (Toma, Cassiday). Kamehameha 4 (Lyons 2, Dumlao, Minns).

Reported by Tootie Suyat

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2404.

'IOLANI 55, SAINT LOUIS 51

Taylor Mounts scored a game-high 28 points as the No. 3 Raiders (10-2) edged the host Crusaders (6-6).

Cole Shidaki led Saint Louis with 21 points.

'IOLANI (10-2) 15 9 16 15 — 55

SAINT LOUIS (6-6) 12 14 14 11 — 51

'IOLANI — Kela Marciel 1, Andrew Skalman 2, Nick Christman 0, Trevyn Tulonghari 2, Lionel Fujioka 0, Berton Wong 3, Bricen McCartney 9, Pablo Warner 8, Taylor Mounts 28, Jarrett Arakawa 2. Totals 17 18-26 55.

SAINT LOUIS — Lucas Gonsalves 5, Micah McClinton 6, Corey Lau 0, Dean Viena 4, Kyle Gonzaga 0, Cole Shidaki 21, Marcus Umu 2, Michael Tuiloma 6, Jamison Miller 7, Moses Samia 0. Totals 19 12-17 51.

3-point goals: 'Iolani 3 (McCartney 2, Wong). Saint Louis 1 (Gonsalves).

Reported by Gail Juan

MID-PACIFIC 49, DAMIEN 43

Marcus Holyfield scored 20 points and Devon Takenaka 16, lifting the host Owls (4-8) over the Monarchs (0-12).

Kaiakoili Lima led Damien with 19 points.

DAMIEN (0-12) 11 6 14 12 — 43

MID-PACIFIC (4-8) 8 8 19 14 — 49

DAMIEN — Nikko Romuar 5, Tim Smith 0, Anthony Tuitele 0, Kaiakoili Lima 19, Nick Cerny 0, Aminis Thompson 0, Austin Dawson 0, Michael Memea 0, Tyler Tamayo 5, Mark Baay 5, Breysen Lee 9. Totals 16 9-18 43.

MID-PACIFIC — Jonathan Taniguchi 0, Sampson Won 5, Ryan Kurihara 2, Jaime Rivera 0, Marcus Holyfield 20, Dustyn Uchiyama 0, Brad Wu 2, Kellar Ellsworth 4, Devon Takenaka 16, Cameron Roberts 0, Matt Shibata 0, Sililo Pale 0, Joshua Jamias 0. Totals 17 15-32 49.

3-point goals: Damien 2 (Tamayo, Baay).

Reported by Sean Aoyagi

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com.