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On a night when the home team shot 9-for-24 from the free-throw line, Punahou fans could’ve had a lot to worry about.
Instead, the Buffanblu jolted the visiting Kahuku Red Raiders with six steals in the second quarter to turn a one-point deficit into a 14-point halftime lead. Unseeded Punahou went on to oust Kahuku 64-48 on Monday night in the opening round of the Snapple/ HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship. The Buffanblu shot 54 percent from the field (27-for-50), including just 1-for-10 from 3-point range, but it didn’t matter.
Senior center Duke Clemens powered and finessed his way on the block for 16 points to pace the Buffanblu. Tamatoa Falatea helped spark the fast break with 11 points and Jakob Kimura added 10 points as the team followed its motto. Punahou increased the defensive heat to its preferred temperature, the boiling point of 212 degrees.
“Our coach really pushes us on the press game about getting it to 212,” said Falatea, who recently signed with Princeton to play football. “We got it to 212 and got the job done. Kahuku is a great team. Our coach said we have to win the battle for rebounds.”
Ethan Erickson led Kahuku (18-11), the OIA’s fourth-place team, with 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Lokana Enos added 12 points.
Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up Punahou (27-5 overall) will meet Maui Interscholastic League champion Lahainaluna at 5 p.m. on Thursday night at Moanalua’s gym.
Kahuku came to Hemmeter Fieldhouse with plans on containing Clemens and his crafty low-post skills, but Erickson picked up his third personal foul with 1.1 seconds left in the opening quarter. Marcus Damuni soon after suffered a head injury while trying to take a charging foul with 1:39 remaining in the second quarter. While Erickson returned in the second half, Damuni was unable to get back on the court.
Punahou’s high-pressure, fullcourt coverage also caused problems. Kahuku led 12-11 entering the second quarter, but committed seven of its 21 turnovers during the next eight minutes and fell behind 34-20.
“We’ve got some young guards, and once you start turning the ball over it’s hard to get back on track,” Kahuku coach Brandyn Akana said.
“Their defense got excited and active.”
Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said his team had its share of early-game adrenaline and jitters.
“We needed to calm down a little bit. Every first game (in the state tournament) is like that. It’s adrenaline and nerves. We had to remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint, just play the way you usually do,” Matsuda said.
Punahou took the lead early in the second quarter at 16-14 on Maninoa Tufono’s turnaround bank shot on the block, which began with a clean cross screen by Clemens, a future UCLA offensive lineman. Kimura’s steal and pass to Falatea for a layup extended the lead to four points.
Kimura’s three-point play on a fast-break bucket gave Punahou its biggest lead to that point, 21-14.
With Matsuda flooding the court with mass substitutions all game long, the Buffanblu went on another mini-run in the last few minutes of the first half. Clemens picked Kahuku guard Shon Reid near midcourt and scored easily, and Yoshi Kobayashi turned his steal into another Punahou layup for a 25-17 lead.
Moments later, Kobayashi and Peyton Macapulay scored on steals, and after Kobayashi fed Ryder Hsiung for a layup before the buzzer, Punahou’s lead zoomed to 34-20. Kahuku got no closer the rest of the way.
Kapolei 49, Baldwin 41, OT
Point guard Ja’Shon Carter put in the tying layup with a second left in regulation, then paced the Hurricanes (18-8) to the road win in overtime by getting to the line repeatedly.
Carter, who scored a game-high 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting, was 7-for-10 on free throws, including 6-for-8 in the extra period. Nathaniel Whitehurst grabbed 10 rebounds.
Holden Ioanis put in a team-high 13 points for the host Bears (12-12), who shot 1-for-10 in overtime. John Werner had 10 points and 10 rebounds — including eight boards on the offensive end — for Baldwin, the MIL runner-up.
Kapolei, the OIA’s third-place team, advanced to face top-seeded ILH champ Maryknoll at 7 p.m. Thursday at McKinley.
‘Iolani 72, Hilo 45
The Raiders’ 3-point shot traveled to the Big Island exceptionally well; they buried 14 triples in 30 attempts to put away the host Vikings with little trouble.
Frank Felix (game-high 17 points) led the way in that department with 5-for-10 shooting from long range. Noah Bumanglag, Sam Wheeler, Kawika Lee and Lanakila Pei each canned two triples. Lee had 14 points and Wheeler 10. Bumanglag had six assists.
‘Iolani (21-11) pulled away in the second quarter (16-6 in the period) to turn a close contest into a 14-point game at halftime. It was a 21-point game going into the fourth. The ILH third-place team will play at OIA champ Moanalua at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Rayson Padilla led Hilo (15-15) with 12 points.
Kailua 68, Kalaheo 40
After a slow start, the Surfriders rounded into form in the second half to dispatch their Windward-side rival once again.
Kailua (19-12) swept all four meetings this season against Kalaheo (17-17), but the host Surfriders led only 24-23 at halftime after trailing by five points through a quarter.
Kailua dominated the fourth quarter 26-7 to win going away. The previous largest margin of victory between the teams this season was 11.
This time, Everett Torres-Kahapea went for 22 points — including a 4-for-10 effort on 3-pointers — and Isaiah Hopson added 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting to go with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Nainoa Peters added 12 points for the OIA runner-up Surfriders, who advanced to face BIIF champion Waiakea at 5 p.m. Thursday at McKinley.
Aaron Baker shot 4-for-7 on 3s to lead the Mustangs with 17 points.
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