He cradled it. He clutched it. He would not let it go. The HHSAA state championship trophy, in all its koa glory, looked right at home in the long arms of Kupaa Harrison.

Minutes after the Kalaheo Mustangs held off ‘Iolani for a 53-45 title victory, the ceremony was done, photos were pau and all that was left was to cut the net.

Harrison preferred to wait. Someone had to keep that trophy company.

He got his first taste of state-championship ecstasy two years ago as a role player for the Kalaheo Mustangs.

"That year, I was kind of a background character to those other leaders. This year, it was me and Kaleb’s team as leaders. I feel like I contributed so much more," he said, referring to sharp-shooting guard Kaleb Gilmore.

Kalaheo basketball, in its most grounded ways, is still rooted in the years of legendary coach Pete Smith.

Even some of the drills, son Alika Smith says, are holdovers from the 1980s. But on Saturday night, there were a few basic things the Mustangs do that were far from traditional.

Their 53-45 win over ‘Iolani for the Division I boys basketball state title capped a 31-3 season. Kalaheo was old school in the most basic sense on Saturday. The Mustangs shot 81 percent from the free-throw line, led by Kaleb Gilmore’s epic 18-for-20 effort.

This all came two nights after the OIA third-place team routed top-seeded Punahou, sinking 31 out of 39 free-throw attempts. For that night, Gilmore was 16-for-17 despite sitting nearly half the game with foul trouble. He came through in the clutch and he came through on defense. In the span of one year, Gilmore went from being a volume scorer at Maryknoll to becoming an efficient dual weapon, adding better decisions as an on-ball defensive force. He did it under the biggest spotlight with an ankle that was "60 percent."

"I had to push through," Gilmore said. "I’m happy. I waited four years for this. I came to Kalaheo. Coach mentored me and built me up. He told me that I have other people on the team. I don’t have to worry about scoring or anything else, just play my game and let it come to me."

The versatility of Harrison flipped the script in a startling, but seamless way. He ran the offense, with the help of well-trained teammates, of course, in a way that he never had to. On Thursday, they spread the court with the 6-foot-5 Harrison at the point — in the second quarter.

The move bought Smith some time as Gilmore sat with three first-half fouls, and Kalaheo not only survived, they protected that lead until Gilmore returned in two second-half stints to help ice the upset win.

Then, on Saturday, Harrison stepped up while Gilmore labored with an injured right ankle. Sixteen rebounds, five assists and his fingerprints on just about everything Kalaheo did right. Handling fullcourt pressure, sideline traps, using the most timely and precise bounce passes to thwart ‘Iolani’s elite defense. Over and over again, he beat defenders on drives to the key, sending more passes to teammates like Alec MacLeod for layups.

There simply hasn’t been a 6-5 playmaker like this, completely engrossed in efficient, high-percentage offense, in recent memory.

"That’s how unselfish he is. At the end of the day, that kid is so smart that you just let him go," coach Smith said. "He’s smart enough to know the situation, the time and the possession. And he played excellent defense."

For Kalaheo’s coach, the thread that carries through new players and those rooted in generations at Kalaheo simply stirs and satisfies.

"Kaleb came over. I’m just very happy for him that he can leave his legacy with a championship. My career, I never had one. My nephew (Kekai) has two. Kupaa has two now. My son (Jalen) has one. It’s a family affair, and these families are such a tight-knit group," Smith said.

Every Mustang on the court in these four wins from unseeded territory to the title throne had this in common: All played good to great defense. Even Jalen Smith, the lean 6-5 freshman, who had never played anything but guard and occasionally forward as a middle-schooler. His growth spurt, growing roughly 6 inches in just two years, thrust him into the heart of Kalaheo’s defense.

But aside from the versatility and clutch play of the Mustangs, Kalaheo’s sixth state crown was fortified by incoming gifts. Harrison was at ‘Iolani in middle school, but when his financial-aid package was reduced — he was just 6 feet by the end of eighth grade — he and his family decided to stay home and attend Kalaheo.

Imagine the ‘Iolani teams of the past three years with Harrison. Though he and Raiders coach Dean Shimamoto acknowledge that everything worked out for the best, at the time of the move, Harrison was very young and very stunned.

Gilmore was at Maryknoll until his junior year was over. All over Oahu, there were imports or shuffling this season, and the impact was easily visible in the final-four rosters of the D-I state tourney. But talent alone can’t win a game.

Smith has guided Kalaheo to two D-I state titles in three years, as well as a D-II state crown before that. He is building a legacy of his own, one that his late father would be proud of. In an era of transfers, 3-point bombs and five-out offenses, Alika Smith — the former All-WAC defensive pick — and his team took pride in the most basic of championship ingredients: defense.

That’s a simple byproduct of work ethic.

"The hard work that we put in as a staff, the hard work the kids put in each and every day, each and every summer, each and every fall, whatever league they’re in," Smith said, "they know they’re going to reap the benefits."