Smith’s late buckets propel Farrington

It’s been more than 40 years in the works, but the Farrington Governors are back in the Division I state championship.

Isaiah Smith made sure of that, scoring eight points in the final 1:24 as second-seeded Farrington outlasted Maryknoll 63-57 in the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.

A boisterous crowd of 1,647 at Blaisdell Arena saw the Governors turn a tight game into an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Then Maryknoll chipped away.

Down 50-39, the Spartans attacked Farrington’s man defense and returned to the foul line over and over. Josh Burnett and Kaleb Gilmore combined for eight points as Maryknoll got within four at 53-49 with 1:35 to play.

Eleven seconds later, Burnett fouled Smith on a cut to the basket and fouled out.

"When I saw Josh foul out, I knew we could double-team Kaleb," said Smith, who picked the ball from Gilmore and scored on a lay-up during a late 8-0 run to put the game out of reach. A foul shot by Smith with 44 ticks to go made it 61-49.

Burnett finished with 24 points on 7-for-13 shooting and corralled 13 rebounds, but a swarming Farrington defense forced him into nine turnovers. Seemingly every time he drove and turned the corner on his man, another Governor was there waiting.

Gilmore faced the same issue, but still scored 15 points.

"We defended a little tighter on Kaleb. Last time we played them, they had 30 points each," Governors coach Allan Silva said. "It was team defense."

It was a frustrating finish for Burnett, who sat near the end of the bench with his head buried in his hands after fouling out.

"We didn’t give up," he said. "I wanted to step up for my team, but we didn’t give up. We played to the end."

Van Hugo drew the initial assignment to cover Burnett, an explosive 6-foot-3 senior with 3-point range. Had the normal man coverage failed, even with plenty of help-side defense, Silva was willing to try something unusual.

"Believe me, I thought about a triangle-and-two, but I had confidence in the guys," he said.

The second-half run was fueled in part by some nifty post passes between Tua Unutoa, Seu Luafatasaga and Jacob McEnroe. With Maryknoll sticking with man defense, the Govs had more open space in the key than they’ve seen in a while.

McEnroe led the Govs with 14 points, nine boards, four assists and a block. Hugo finished with 13 points, including a big 3 for the lead just before halftime.

Now the Governors are in the D-I championship game — where they’ll face ‘Iolani — for the first time since 1970, when they lost to Bud Scott’s Punahou squad 56-44. The last time Farrington won the D-I state crown was in 1960, when Robert Ikehara guided them to a second consecutive title.

"They’re very well coached," Silva said of ‘Iolani. "We’ve got to play our game and play smart."

At Neal Blaisdell Arena

MARYKNOLL—Michael Miske 0, Sean Ogata 7, Jake Suyemoto 0, Darin Miyamoto 0, Kaleb Gilmore 15, Joshua Burnett 24, Calvin Koo 6, James Winquist 2, Shane Victorino 0, Tyson Kaloa 3, Brandon Floyd 0, Micah McGivern 0.

FARRINGTON—Jacob McEnroe 14, Mark Duldulao 5, Isaiah Smith 11, Van Hugo 13, Isaiah Visoria 1, Manly Williams 0, Tuamasaga Unutoa 11, Seufagafaga Luafatasaga 8, Mason Semisi 0.

3-point goals—Maryknoll 7 (Burnett 3, Gilmore 2, Ogata, Koo). Farrington 3 (Hugo 2, Duldulao).

D-I FIFTH-PLACE SEMIFINALS 

KONAWAENA 69, LAHAINALUNA 49

At Neal Blaisdell Arena

KONAWAENA—Tanner Gray 2, Ryan Malone 0, Pookela Hanato-Smith 6, Kupono Kane 2, Brandon Awa 9, Chase Takaki 15, Austin Aukai 1, Zane Gray 0, Kevin Mederios 11, Cameron Howes 11, Reyson Ching 7, Eric Edmund 2, Jonah Bredeson 3.

LAHAINALUNA—Nicolas Vierra 6, Marvin Sidon 0, Brandon Agapay 2, Joshua Corpuz 8, Kalalani Kaaikala 4, Josh Chapital 7, Renzo Corpuz 0, Penisimani Taufa 7, Zac Carlton 0, Scott Issac Medeiros-Tangitailoa 0, Cyrus Kama 13, Willem Thorebeck 0, Ryan Madera 2.

3-point goals—Konawaena 6 (Takaki 3, Mederios 3). Lahainaluna 3 (Vierra, Corpuz, Chapital).

BALDWIN 63, MILILANI 54

At Neal Blaisdell Arena

BALDWIN—Kody Takushi 8, Niko Corpin 0, Ryan Garces 21, Philip Thomas 20, Josiah Maglente 6, Kelii Kalama 0, Taje Akaka 3, Jeremiah Badillo 3, Sam Balantac 2, Liam Wake 0.

MILILANI—Jeremy Rozmeski 3, Noel Bueno 11, Cody Sison 17, Ian Namu 8, Elijah Butler 8, Braiden Rosario 1, Cameron Muh 0, Kingston Nishimura 0, John Orpillia 0, Elijah Gambol 2, Sean Fitzgerald 0, Jacob Low 0, James Ziegler 0, Kekoa Fields 4, Logan Griff 0.

3-point goals—Baldwin 7 (Thomas 4, Takushi 2, Garces). Mililani 3 (Bueno 2, Rozmeski).

D-I CONSOLATION 

WAIAKEA 54, KALAHEO 32

At Neal Blaisdell Arena

WAIAKEA—Bryson Ita 4, Lucas St. George 20, Maikai Gahan 2, Kahinu Alapai 0, Noah Ferreira 6, Jeffrey Tomas 7, Dillon Rellez 2, Mark Pacris 3, Cody Kojima 6, Daylen Ita 0, Calvin Mattos 0, Kyle Kua-Ramirez 2, Louie Ondo 2, Alex Mathews 0.

KALAHEO—Alexander Macleod 5, Kekai Smith 7, Micah Koyama-Holeso 0, LaDara Barnes 6, Andrew Hernandez 4, Zachary Marrotte 5, Peter Santiago 0, Dario Del Castillo 5, Thomas Focht 0, Kela Thomas 0, Kennedy Quinn 0, Christian Graham 0, Abel Kanehe 0.

3-point goals—Waiakea 4 (Kojima 2, St. George, Ferreira). Kalaheo 4 (Macleod, Smith, Marrotte, Del Castillo).