Gabriel Ross sank two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to give Baldwin a hard-earned 41-39 win over Leilehua on Thursday night in Division I quarterfinal play at the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.

“He’s done that for us all season. He might miss a lot of free throws in the first half, but he comes through in the second,” Baldwin coach Wayne Gushiken said of Ross, who was 1-for-5 at the line before hitting his final two tries.

Fourth-seeded Baldwin (25-3) advanced to the semifinals and will play Punahou tonight at Neal Blaisdell Arena.

“I feel great. With our other team (King Kekaulike) winning the other day, it bodes well for the MIL,” Gushiken said.

A crowd of about 400 at McKinley, including around 100 devoted Baldwin fans, watched in apprehension as neither team seemed able to deliver a key shot until the final few minutes.

Reserve guard Cody Halvorson swished a

3-pointer from the top to cap a 9-2 run by the Mules and tie the score at 39-all with 1:39 remaining.

From there, Ross slipped while penetrating through the key and was whistled for traveling with 24.6 seconds left.

Halvorson got another look, this time from the right corner, but Ross challenged him closely enough and the Leilehua gunner missed. Baldwin post Bradley Bowlin hustled after the long rebound and barely had control of the ball as he crossed the midcourt line as time ticked down.

“He’s not used to dribbling a lot. I’m just glad he could see me,” Ross said.

He alertly batted the bouncing ball ahead to Ross, who was fouled from behind in the paint by Russell Siavii.

After a Baldwin timeout, Ross rattled in the first shot before swishing the second.

“Coach wanted me to relax and let everyone know to foul automatically whether I make the free throws or not,” Ross said.

At the time, Baldwin had just four team fouls.

Troy Ross’ inbounds pass to Siavii at midcourt was deflected by Bowlin, a 6-foot-3 junior, and time expired.

Ross led Baldwin with 13 points. The Bears’ big frontcourt of Bowlin, Pasoni Tasini (6-4) and Tevarua Eldridge (6-0) combined for 22 points and 17 rebounds.

Halvorson led Leilehua (13-12), the fourth-place team from the OIA, with 10 points. Penitito Melei added nine points and seven boards, and Siavii added eight points, five rebounds and two blocks.

The Bears jumped to an

8-2 lead, using their disciplined halfcourt offense against the Mules’ man defense.

By the second quarter, Tasini was in foul trouble and the Mules battled back. After Halvorson’s first trey, Leilehua tied the score at 21-all entering the half.

Baldwin went on a 10-2 run midway through the third quarter, powered by Tasini inside. Bowlin’s three-point play under the glass gave his team a 33-25 lead.

Leilehua shot 34 percent from the field (14-for-41) against a Baldwin defense that sagged heavily into the paint.

The Mules hit just 2-for-12 from 3-point range and committed 15 turnovers against Baldwin’s man and zone defenses.

Baldwin was 16-for-42 (38 percent) from the field and converted nine of 18 from the line. The Bears had a slight edge on the boards (25-24).

“They did a helluva job coaching,” Gushiken said of Leilehua. “We played them in preseason and they really came a long way.”

DeForest Buckner scored 17 points and hauled in 13 rebounds as top-seeded Punahou routed Hilo in quarterfinal play.

“We were rusty, the first half. We were really excited, so just to get that first win is huge,” Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. “Hilo’s one of the best teams we’ve seen at ball pressure, as good as anyone we’ve seen this year.”

Buckner went 7-for-13 from the field, blocked three shots and teamed with Malik Johnson (11 points, seven boards) to create havoc under the basket for the smaller Vikings. Punahou (25-2) shot 61 percent from the field (27-for-44) against Hilo’s man defense, with Buckner drawing constant double teams.

The 6-foot-7 senior found open teammates all night. Johnson, a 6-5 senior, was often open at the elbow. Kupono Fey, a reserve post, finished with 13 points and five boards off the bench.

“I felt real comfortable with the double teams,” Buckner said. “I told ’em, ‘Get it in to me so I can open it up for our outside shots.’ ”

Punahou dominated the boards 35-13. Hilo (20-10), which got 18 points from Jalen Carvalho, was outrebounded 16-4.

The Buffanblu had a 15-day break since winning the Interscholastic League of Honolulu title, but didn’t show a whole lot of rust.

“Coach said just because we had two weeks off we can’t get soft. We went hard at each other at practice,” said Buckner, who will play football at Oregon this fall.

Matsuda put in his second platoon halfway through the opening quarter with his team up 11-2.

Hilo cut an 11-point lead to 17-14 after a pair of free throws by Kainoa Kawaha-Figueroa early in the second quarter.

Punahou went on a 12-4 run to close the half for a 29-18 lead.

Hilo, which reached the quarterfinals after a win over Moanalua on Wednesday, could do little to stop Buckner’s low-post game. A 12-2 run midway through the third quarter opened the lead to 23 points.

Carvalho drained a string of treys, scoring 13 points in the second half. Hilo got no closer than 18 the rest of the way.

The Vikings, who finished second in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, shot 31 percent (17-for-54) from the field. They were

15-for-18 from the line and committed 15 turnovers against Punahou’s man defense.

Punahou committed 21 turnovers against Hilo’s fullcourt man defense.