The race slowed to a crawl, but No. 6 Kamehameha-Hawaii proved championship-worthy anyway.

The Warriors, coming off a stunning win over Punahou on Wednesday, got 15 points from Lanaki Apele and 11 from Kaeo Alapai for a 53-41 win over Kailua in the final of the St. Francis/Merv Lopes Classic last night at Manoa Valley Recreation Center.

KS-Hawaii (13-1 overall) showed the ability to run like classic Big Island championship teams, but also was able to win at a slow tempo against Coach Tim Harrison’s physical, fast Surfriders.

The game was tight until the final quarter, when the Warriors’ 2-3 zone thwarted the Surfriders. Kailua (6-8 overall) shot 3-for-18 in the fourth quarter. Misfires from the foul line didn’t help, either. The Surfriders were 8-for-17 from the charity stripe.

"I expected a battle. We had to grind it out," Warriors coach Dominic Pacheco said.

"Oahu teams are physical. Kailua showed heart in the first half and we had to dig deep and keep our composure," said forward Jayce Carvalho, an HPU baseball signee who was named to the all-tournament team.

Apele, who had 15 points, was named tourney MVP.

"Now that we’ve been here, we see what we’ve got to do to get better and prepare for the state tournament," Apele said. "But first we’ve got to take care of business in the BIIF."

The game was up-tempo and highly entertaining in the first half as KS-Hawaii raced to an 18-8 lead, forcing 10 turnovers by Kailua before the second quarter.

However, the Warriors began to tire in their fourth game in four days, and Kailua began scoring on the press at a furious rate. Chevy Mikaele hit a 3-pointer and a layup to bring the Surfriders all the way to a 27-all tie.

Kailua tied the game twice more in the second half, but never took the lead. It was 35-all after Keanu Vela’s fast-break layup off a feed from Kila Zuttermeister midway through the third quarter.

The Warriors scored the next four points, however, and gradually stretched the lead to nine on a layup by Apele and a baseline jumper from Carvalho.

Jacob Kackley hustled for a team-high 11 caroms.

Ethan Mahaulu led Kailua with 11 points and a game-high 12 boards. Mikaele added nine points.

Kailua shot 29 percent from the field, but matched KS-Hawaii’s intensity from start to finish. The battle on the boards was nearly even; KS-Hawaii had a 45-44 edge.

The Warriors had just six turnovers; Kailua finished with 17.