Twenty-six years is a mighty long time between championships, but the Maryknoll Spartans will take it.

The Spartans got 22 points from guard Kaleb Gilmore, and the sophomore combined with junior Joshua Burnett for four key free throws in the final 32 seconds as No. 2 Maryknoll edged No. 3 Punahou 57-53 to win the Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys basketball crown on Friday night.

A capacity crowd at T.C. Ching Gymnasium at Maryknoll saw the home team end an ILH-title drought that went back to the 1986-87 season, when Tony Sellitto was coach. Current coach Kelly Grant played under Sellitto as a shooting guard on the 1983-84 league championship team.

"The last time we won, we had Jimmy Kalaukoa. I was at that game," said Grant, now a teacher at the school. "Our (school) president made it clear to us that it’s been two cycles since Maryknoll last won. I think every single teacher was here watching us tonight."

About 100 fans stayed after the game as the Spartans cut a net down. After a boisterous night, it was a quiet few minutes until Grant cut the final strand.

"It’s special to win back at my alma mater, for everybody here. There’s a piece of this for everybody," said Grant, who guided Kaimuki to a state title in 2007.

Both teams had already clinched state-tournament berths. Punahou (19-7) needed to win and capture the ILH tournament title to set up a winner-take-all matchup with the regular-season champion, Maryknoll, today. But it wasn’t necessary after the Spartans’ man-to-man defense limited the defending league champs from across Wilder Avenue.

"We’re a young team and this is one of those games when we were under a lot of pressure," Buffanblu coach Darren Matsuda said. "We’re usually a good free-throw shooting team, but not today. And we had a lot of turnovers."

The Buffanblu were 11-for-18 at the foul line and had 14 turnovers. They shot 37 percent from the field (18-for-49), including 6-for-24 from the 3-point arc, but reserve forward Justin Kam kept the visitors in the game by nailing four 3-pointers.

"No. 5 was hot. He was hot. We didn’t game plan for him, but at halftime we talked about it," said Burnett, a 6-foot-3 swingman. "We fought through. We’re going to go on and win the state championship next week."

Maryknoll (23-2) also cleaned up on the glass with a 33-21 rebounding edge. Center Tobias Schramm, a 6-foot-9 senior, had eight points and a game-high 13 boards, and 6-5 sophomore Hyrum Harris had 10 points and 10 caroms.

"Free throws again. We struggled in the beginning, but we always knock down our free throws. We didn’t let (Punahou) come back," said Schramm, whose team was 11-for-16 at the line (69 percent).

The two powerhouse programs split regular-season games. The Spartans won a run-and-gun shootout at home, 70-66, on Jan. 9. Punahou then won despite a slower pace on Jan. 26, 47-41.

Friday night’s battle came down to Maryknoll’s ability to contain its own aggression when necessary.

"We lost our composure a little bit there, but for the most part it was because of Punahou," Grant said. "I’ve got to give Coach Matsuda credit."

After getting a steal off Dayson Watanabe for a layup, Gilmore picked up a fourth foul.

Burnett, who finished with eight points, sat for most of the first half with foul trouble.

Burnett responded in the second half, taking a bad Punahou pass coast to coast for a resounding dunk that brought the house down and gave the Spartans a 49-41 lead with 4:13 remaining.

Gilmore’s superior acceleration and speed got him into trouble a couple of times against Punahou’s fullcourt pressure late in the game. But after free throws by Kupono Fey and Nick Velasquez cut the lead to 51-47 with 2:27 left, Gilmore took over the point and brought the ball upcourt, lulled trapping defenders and blazed by for a key bucket.

Velasquez drove for a deuce and Fey scored in the paint to bring the visitors within 53-51 with 44 seconds to go, but Gilmore hit two foul shots for a four-point lead.

Velasquez found Fey for a reverse layup with 17 seconds remaining, bringing Punahou within 55-53.

Burnett calmly swished two free throws with 16.3 ticks left.

After Watanabe was short on an NBA-range 3, Burnett brought the rebound down. He missed a 1-and-1 foul shot with 8.3 seconds to go, but Punahou was unable to hit another shot.

Velasquez led Punahou with 15 points, but was pestered all night and finished 5-for-13 from the field.

At Maryknoll

Punahou 14 6 18 15 — 53

Maryknoll 11 15 15 16 — 57

PUNAHOU—Randon Oda 0, Jordan Tanuvasa 1, Micah Ma‘a 3, Justin Kam 14, Dayson Watanabe 2, Daniel Andrews 5, Kanawai Noa 0, Nicholas Velasquez 15, Kupono Fey 13, Canton Kaumatule 0.

MARYKNOLL—Sean Ogata 0, John Mayer 2, Danny Danbara 4, Kaleb Gilmore 22, Tobias Powell 1, Joshua Burnett 8, Tysen Kaloa 2, Hyrum Harris 10, Tobias Schramm 8.

3-point goals—Punahou 6 (Kam 4, Velasquez 2). Maryknoll 4 (Gilmore 4).

OIA Red playoffs

Kapolei 68, Farrington 59

Zachary Reeves scored 15 points as the Hurricanes defeated the Governors to earn third place.

At Kapolei

Farrington 14 10 16 19 — 59

Kapolei 19 22 12 15 — 68

FARRINGTON—Jacob McEnroe 16, Mark Dudalao 0, Isaiah Smith 2, Van Hugo 4, Marco Cudia 11, Lee Jensen Mahiai 1, Tyler Liana 7, David Luafatasago 14, Mason Semisi 4.

KAPOLEI—Augstine Stridiron 2, Elia McKeague 0, Dorien Antonio-Martos 13, Curtis Tavares 13, Joshua Wills 10, Aaron Jackson 0, Christopher Dillard 4, Brailand Hern 6, Benjahmin Toomolatai 0, Zachary Reeves 15, Elijah Gipson 5, Michael Kapoi 0.

3-point goals—Farrington 2 (McEnroe, Liana). Kapolei 5 (Tavares 3, Antonio-Martos, Dillard).

Mililani 34, Pearl City 30

The Trojans outscored the Chargers by 15 after half to capture the OIA’s fifth state spot. Pearl City took the OIA’s sixth and final state bid.

At Pearl City

MILILANI 8 5 6 15 — 34

Pearl City 16 8 2 4 — 30

MILILANI—Chedan Pascual 0, Jason Calabrese 4, Sylvester Panoncillo 3, Peter Bueno 4, Cody Sison 1, Elijah Gambol 10, Ian Namu 6, Riley Borges 3, Noel Bueno 3, Jeremy Rozmeski 0, Sean Fitzgerald 0.

PEARL CITY—Isaac Amorin 5, Eric Dela Pena 0, Garrett Kanamu 0, Reymart Rosario 11, Tyson Hickcox 8, Zach Kaya 2, Sonny Glisson 2, Daicorri Briscoe 0, Bricen Shafer 2, Shandy Reyes 0, Tylor Canon 0, Bryson Galderia 0, P.Jay Solomon 0.

3-point goals—Mililani 2 (Gambol 2). Pearl City 3 (Rosario 3).