Chase Takaki’s only bucket of the game was better late than never.

Takaki swished a rainbow 3-pointer from the right wing with 1.2 seconds left as Konawaena shocked Kalaheo 54-53 on Saturday night to capture the Pete Smith Classic title.

"(Brandon Awa) created his own lane and the defense collapsed. I had to let it go because the time was running down," said Takaki, who is also a football standout.

Kupaa Harrison led Kalaheo, which lost for the first time after 11 nonconference victories. The versatile guard-forward had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Coach Donald Awa’s Wildcats (4-0) had not led since scoring the first basket of the game, and trailed 30-14 early in the third quarter.

"I’m not going to lie. It got to us. Only 12 points in the first half, that’s bad," said Brandon Awa, a point guard and the coach’s son. "I told Chase that since Pookela (Hanato-Smith) fouled out, if I give you the ball, you’ve got to shoot that. He threw it up and it went in. That was crazy."

The Wildcats remembered a loss to Kalaheo last season.

"They came to the Big Island last year and they put a whupping on us, beat us by 30," Brandon Awa said.

Jonah Bredesen, playing through a bout of the flu, pumped in 10 of his game-high 19 points as the defending BIIF champions cut the lead to four.

Kalaheo regained momentum and went into the fourth quarter with a 41-35 lead. The defending D-I state champion Mustangs had control in the early moments of the fourth quarter, opening the lead to 49-41 with 3:03 remaining after Alec Macleod swished four foul shots in a row. Donald Awa was unhappy with several officiating calls, but his team stayed cool.

Brandon Awa, who finished with 16 points, began to find open teammates on his drives into the lane. Bredeson sank a 3-pointer and so did Zane Gray, who knocked in his only shot of the game with 44 seconds left to tie it at 51-all.

Kalaheo worked the clock patiently and Kekai Smith drove past Awa for a tough layup that rolled on the rim and through the twine for a 53-51 Kalaheo lead with 16 seconds left.

Konawaena got the ball in and opted not to call timeout. Awa began to drive through the lane, drew two defenders and kicked the ball out to Takaki. The senior launched from 23 feet out and hit nothing but net.

"It’s always a lesson, especially in preseason," said Kalaheo coach Alika Smith, the late Pete Smith’s son. "We had a 13-point lead at halftime, but it should’ve been more. That was the Kona team we saw all tournament in the second half. We had mental lapses, shooting 3s while we’re up five."

The Mustangs, a relatively young squad after losing its key players from last year’s title team, were devastated after the game.

"You can tell it hurt ’em," Smith said. "But you gotta learn from it."