No. 2 Punahou rallied with an 18-3 third-quarter run and hung on for dear life in the final seconds for a thrilling 57-56 win over No. 3 ‘Iolani on Tuesday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
Coming off their first loss of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season at Maryknoll three nights earlier, the Buffanblu improved to 4-1 in league play (19-2 overall) behind 23 points and eight rebounds from jumping jack Jakob Kimura.
Punahou led 57-53 with one minute remaining when senior Tamatoa Falatea missed a 3-point try from the wing.
‘Iolani guard Noah Bumanglag then splashed a straightaway 3 with 45 seconds remaining to bring the visiting Raiders within 57-56.
After Punahou freshman Peyton Maculapay missed two free throws with 32 seconds to go, the Raiders had their chance. Bumanglag missed a tough reverse layup on a baseline drive, and Frank Felix was in position for the offensive rebound but missed the putback with two seconds left.
“I thought they would go to the basket,” Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. “I didn’t know if it would be Noah, but I thought it would be something going to the basket. We were worried about (Shaydon) Molina (inside). We got lucky.”
‘Iolani was called for a technical foul with 0.5 seconds left, but Falatea missed both foul shots. Punahou inbounded on the ensuing play to Falatea to run out the clock.
‘Iolani slipped to 3-2 in ILH play (12-6 overall) despite shooting 40 percent from 3-point range (10-for-25). Kawika Lee led the Raiders with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists. Sam Wheeler added 14 points and Felix tallied 12.
Punahou escaped with the victory despite shooting 2-for-11 from the arc (18 percent) and 11-for-24 at the charity stripe (46 percent).
“I think I’ve got seven more gray hairs, at least,” Matsuda said. “I thought we played really good lock-down defense. We took good shots (during the comeback).”
The visitors were on fire in the early minutes of the third quarter, turning a one-point halftime lead into a 37-29 edge after Wheeler hit his third and final trey.
Punahou then solidified its offense with constant low-post work by Duke Clemens and 10 third-quarter points by Kimura. Punahou opened its lead to 47-40 early in the fourth quarter.
“It’s still early,” ‘Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto said. “We hope to fix some things by the time we play them again.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
No. 5 Kamehameha 54, No. 10 Punahou 25
Kalina Obrey powered for 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Noelle Sua-Godinet added 10 points, six boards and three blocks as the Warriors overwhelmed the Buffanblu at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
Kamehameha finished Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular-season play 7-3 (13-5 overall), two games behind first-place ‘Iolani. Kamehameha and Maryknoll, which beat Sacred Hearts on Tuesday, finished tied for second and will have a tiebreaker playoff game. The top two teams in the ILH will receive byes in the upcoming playoffs.
