There were shark attacks all over the floor Saturday night.
The intensity and big-play performances came from Punahou’s talented hoopsters, many of whom played for coach Darren Matsuda when he was coach of the Honolulu Sharks basketball club.
The high-pressure play-making also came from Kahuku’s ballers, some of whom were starters for the football state championship team — defensive backs who dubbed themselves "Sharks."
On the football field, the sharks from the North Shore prevailed. On Saturday, the roundball Sharks from Punahou pulled out a win. Just barely. It took a come-from-behind win over a Kahuku team that played its best basketball of the year for three-plus quarters.
Lifting the state championship trophy and cutting down the nets at Blaisdell Arena had the Buffanblu smiling big for the first time since 2008, when they last won a Division I state crown. In all, Punahou’s 59-52 victory at the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships made it 10 state crowns in boys basketball, the first under coach Matsuda.
"They were on fire and I thought we were ready to play, but we couldn’t hit shots," the second-year coach said. "We couldn’t hit free throws and we’d been practicing free throws. I give Kahuku all the credit. This is the first time in a long time we were trailing in the beginning, but that shows the maturity of this team, that they were able to get through adversity and come back and win."
The only losses for Punahou (27-2) were against Poway (Calif.) and AOP on a night when standout post DeForest Buckner was on a football recruiting visit to the University of Oregon. Eleven consecutive wins in league play followed. Then came state-tourney victories over Hilo (78-53), Baldwin (59-41) and Kahuku.
At 6-7 and 250 pounds, Buckner faced a difficult task Saturday against 6-4 Sam Ching and a swarm of defenders in red. His modest numbers in the final — 10 points, 10 boards, two blocks — didn’t reflect the inside-out passing that helped turn the tide.
"This is the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my life. We finally got one. I knew Malik (Johnson) was ready. I look for him every single time when they double me," Buckner said. "He played really well."
With Punahou’s long-range shooting stagnant (1-for-7 from beyond the arc), Johnson attacked from the high and low posts to finish with 22 points, going 10-for-12 at the foul line.
"I just finished what I had to do," the 6-5 senior said, still a little surprised at the volume of his performance. "It’s indescribable. I don’t know what to say."
In the end, Kahuku’s rise after winning a football championship took time and patience, and the Red Raiders stunned just about everybody outside of the North Shore by leading through more than three quarters.
But Matsuda and his staff extracted great levels of effort from their team. A rotation that started with 15 players was cut down to roughly 10 by midseason, and each player had a specific role, an ingredient in an award-winning recipe for a title. The platoon of super subs brought instant energy and frazzled opponents with a voracious fullcourt press. Sean Gruebner provided offense from long range. Steven Lakalaka added court vision, toughness, rebounding and poise.
Perimeter stoppers Ka’aha McAfee-Torco and Matthew Taniguchi were at their best, cooling the hot shooting of Kahuku guards Kawehena Johnson and Mason Kuali’i-Moe. Taniguchi stepped up with three clutch free throws in the final 34 seconds.
"I know Matt can hit his free throws any day. I knew he was ready," Buckner said.
Buckner, like Lakalaka, knows the intensity of playing Kahuku in a title game. They were big parts of Punahou’s league championship football team, the one that fell to Kahuku 30-24 in the state final last fall.
"In the beginning, (Kahuku) wanted it more," said Lakalaka, who has family on the North Shore, including cousin Kuali’i-Moe. "Hopefully, this is a memorable moment for me and my family."
He won’t have to hear his cousin bring up two state title wins over Punahou instead of just one.
"We won, so we’re even, 1-1," said Lakalaka, who will play football for Hawaii this fall.
It was the third trip to the D-I state final for Kahuku, which reached the title game in 2009 and ’05. The Red Raiders last won state titles in ’71, ’73 and ’74, when the small-school ‘A’ state tourney was still alive.
For more, including Baldwin’s gesture to honor Kamehameha-Hawaii guard Lanaki Apele and Kalaheo’s D-II title run, please go to our high school blog at hawaiiprepworld.com.
