'Iolani reclaimed the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys basketball championship — its seventh in eight years — last night with a pulsating 54-51 victory over Punahou.

A vocal crowd of 1,568 at Blaisdell Arena watched the Raiders improve to 11-2 in the regular and postseason and secure the ILH's top seed and first-round bye in the state tournament Feb. 20 to 23. The Buffanblu, who ended 'Iolani's six-year title run last season, fell to 10-3 and will begin state tournament play in the first round.

Junior forward Pablo Warner swished a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:52 to play to give the Raiders the lead for good at 52-51. Senior center Taylor Mounts then sank two free throws with two seconds, and Punahou could only manage a desperation three-quarter court shot that fell short as the horn sounded.

"This feels great," said Warner, who finished with a team-high 22 points after hitting shots from every conceivable angle. "Our goal was to bring the ILH title back to 'Iolani, and we want to take it all the way to the state tournament, too."

The two teams split their two regular-season meetings, with the Buffanblu winning the second one, 70-49, on Jan. 29.

But last night's game was tight from beginning to end, with neither team ever leading by more than four points.

A fast-paced first period ended tied at 18-18, and the Raiders clung to a 27-26 halftime lead after a second quarter marked by defense.

The third period ended deadlocked at 37-37.

"This was a really high quality basketball game," 'Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi said. "We were lucky to get the scores and the stops when we needed to. It was a tough game, and our guys did a good job."

Punahou went up 47-43 after Robbie Toma's 3-pointer with 4:03 left, but Warner answered nine seconds later with a short jumper in the lane.

Mounts tied it at 47-47 on two free throws with 3:30 remaining, then the Buffanblu took the lead back on a layup by Manti Te'o 22 seconds later.

But Mounts tied it again at 49-49 on a 15-foot baseline jumper with 2:46 left.

Punahou took its last lead at 51-49 on Kameron Steinhoff's baseline jumper with 2:21 remaining, but then Warner answered with his 3-pointer from the left wing.

"I had a good look and just shot it right away," Warner said. "I wanted to make it for the team."

The Buffanblu missed a shot in traffic on its next possession, but got the ball back after a turnover and controlled it with 32 seconds left. After working the ball around, junior guard Dalton Hilliard drove the lane and lofted a soft runner that fell just short and hit the rim.

After a fight for the rebound, the ball was knocked out of bounds and awarded to the Raiders with 5.6 seconds remaining.

Punahou still had two fouls to give before the bonus, and Mounts was sent to the line with two seconds remaining.

"It came down to those last few possessions, and 'Iolani was tough, they stepped up," Buffanblu coach Dan Hale said. "They're a good team, and that's what you gotta do to win games like these. We were just one play short."

Warner said the Raiders entered the game with confidence despite the 21-point loss two weeks ago, and got an unexpected lift when seldom-used forward Nick Christman came off the bench to score eight points.

"That definitely gave me a boost," Warner said. "When he hit those shots, it inspired me to play harder."

PUNAHOU (10-3) 18 8 11 14 — 51

'IOLANI (11-2) 18 9 10 17 — 54

PUNAHOU — Dalton Hilliard 6, Robert Toma 3, Sean McFadden 0, Shane Yoshiyama 0, Henry Cassiday 4, Kimo Makaula 0, Manti Te'o 10, Kameron Steinhoff 26, Trevor Crabb 2. Totals 20 8-17 51.

'IOLANI — Kela Marciel 0, Andrew Skalman 0, Nick Christman 8, Trevyn Tulonghari 6, Lionel Fujioka 0, Berton Wong 2, Bricen McCartney 0, Pablo Warner 22, Taylor Mounts 16, Jarrett Arakawa 0. Totals 23 6-7 54.

3-point goals: Punahou 3 (Hilliard 2, Toma). 'Iolani 2 (Warner 2).

ILH BOYS DIVISION II

MARYKNOLL 69, DAMIEN 67

Tyler Terai scored 23 points, Richard Herring added 14 and the Spartans (5-8) outscored the Monarchs (0-13), 7-5 in overtime at Blaisdell Arena.

Anthony Tuitele scored 17 points and Aminis Thompson added 13 for Damien.

DAMIEN (0-13) 19 15 16 12 5 — 67

MARYKNOLL (5-8) 10 18 20 14 7 — 69

DAMIEN — Nikko Romuar 9, Drey Dutro-Solomua 8, Tim Smith 0, Anthony Tuitele 17, Kaiakoili Lima 9, Aminis Thompson 13, Mark Baay 3, Michael Memea 1, Tyler Tamayo 5, Breysen Lee 2. Totals 28 4-9 67.

MARYKNOLL — Brian Saxton 0, Tyler Terai 23, Scott Kamimura 3, Garrick Chock 9, Christian Bueno-Kanei 4, Javen Correia 4, Rian Huizingh 0, Micah Kalepa 0, Richard Herring 14, Jordan Napoleon 0, Ross Lum 12. Totals 21 22-35 69.

3-point goals: Damien 7 (Romuar, Dutro, Tuitele 3, Tamayo, Baay). Maryknoll 5 (Terai 2, Herring 2, Chock).

Reported by Peter Estomago

ILH GIRLS DIVISION II

HANALANI 41, ST. ANDREW'S 37

Ruth Matalau scored the go-ahead basket on a putback with 36 seconds remaining and Janelle Fetui and Samantha Hyde added free throws in the final 20 seconds to help the Royals (9-3) secure fourth place in the ILH and the school's first state tournament berth in a team sport.

Noelani Kawashima swished consecutive 3-pointers to give the Pride a 36-35 lead with 49 seconds left, but Matalau answered with a putback 13 seconds later.

Fetui's free throw made it 38-36 with 20.4 seconds remaining, but Minna Watanabe made a free throw to cut it to 38-37 one second later.

But Hyde made three free throws in the final 16.7 seconds for the final margin.

Kawashima led all scorers with 14 points — including four 3-pointers — and Teisa LaBoy added 10 points for St. Andrew's, which trailed 28-17 after three periods. The Pride fell to 8-5.

HANALANI (9-3) 7 9 12 13 — 41

ST. ANDREW'S (8-5) 2 6 9 20 — 37

HANALANI — Nicole Craig 4, Mariah Schoniwitz 6, Katie Scully 5, Janelle Fetui 4, Rachel Matalau 6, Ruth Matalau 8, Samantha Hyde 8, Kristi Arelleno 0. Totals 15 10-25 41.

ST. ANDREW'S — Angela Loh 1, Rebecca Kleinschmidt 0, Shelly Wong 6, Minna Watanabe 6, Noelani Kawashima 14, Erika McCaskil 0, Maile Tua , Teisa Laboy 10, Diana Cabral 0. Totals 10 12-20 37.

3-point goals: Hanalani 1 (Hyde). St. Andrew's 5 (Kawashima 4, Watanabe).

Reported by Peter Estomago

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.