SAN DIEGO — A prosecutor urged jurors yesterday to convict a 22-year-old of murder for delivering a punch that allegedly killed professional surfer Emery Kauanui.

Seth Cravens struck Kauanui in the head with such force that the surfer hit the pavement with "a thud, a sickening, hollow thud," said prosecutor Sophia Roach.

Kauanui's death outside his mother's home in May 2007 shook San Diego's wealthy, seaside community of La Jolla.

Raised on Kaua'i and nicknamed the "Flying Hawaiian," Kauanui, 24, was a fixture at San Diego's Windansea Beach, just a few blocks from his house, where his favorite surf break is now called Emery's Left.

Four others were initially charged with murder but pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were sentenced in September to between 90 and 249 days in jail. They included Hank Hendricks, then a backup quarterback at the University of New Hampshire who was on break. The five defendants were buddies since attending La Jolla High School.

The prosecutor recounted eyewitness testimony of neighbors and Kauanui's girlfriend, Jennifer Grosso, and a doctor who said the surfer's head injury resembled someone who was hit by a baseball bat or a hammer.

If convicted of murder, Cravens faces 15 years to life in prison. He is also charged with assault, battery and making a criminal threat for fights dating to 2005.

Defense attorney Mary Ellen Attridge was scheduled to make her closing argument Monday. In her opening statement last week, she told jurors that Kauanui's death "was a tragedy ... but it was not a murder."

She said Cravens attacked when Kauanui got "five inches away" in a threatening manner.

On May 23, 2007, Kauanui went to a promotional surf-company event at a bar. Around 1 a.m., Kauanui and one defendant, Eric House, got into an argument that ended with House doused in beer. Kauanui went home after bar security ejected him, but the pair traded threats by phone.

Within minutes, Cravens and the other four defendants were at Kauanui's home where they fought. Kauanui died three days later after being taken off life support.