Kaulana Makaula is a master defender, and when he can score like he did Thursday night, Punahou is almost impossible to beat.

The 6-foot-3 senior scored 17 points, canning two treys along the way, as Punahou overwhelmed Lahainaluna 74-54 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships at Moanalua gym.

Unseeded Punahou will meet ILH rival ‘Iolani in today’s semifinal at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Lahainaluna needed a near-flawless performance to stay with the Buffanblu.

“We defended well in the first half,” Lunas coach Jason Justus said after his MIL champions limited Punahou’s dominant center, Duke Clemens, to five first-half points. “We rebounded well in the first half. We just didn’t play good team defense after that. They cut behind us for a lot of baskets.

“Punahou is a great program. It was a David versus Goliath situation.”

Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up Punahou came into the contest with a 10-0 record on a neutral court and left no doubt. Makaula had two blocks and a steal to help spark the Buffanblu’s full-court pressure and half-court man defense. Clemens finished with 13 points, including four during a fourth-quarter run that negated Lahainaluna’s last comeback attempt.

Jakob Kimura tallied nine points and two blocks, and point guard Peyton Macapulay added nine points and seven assists for Punahou (27-5).

“We had a pretty good size advantage. Duke did a great job with his feet. He did a great job staying in front (defensively),” Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said.

Tre Rickard led Lahainaluna (18-6) with 25 points. Reece Pascua added 14 points and five rebounds, and John Flores tallied nine points. The Lunas had 18 turnovers in the first three quarters and finished with 21. Punahou had just seven giveaways.

“We had a lot of guys going in and out,” Matsuda said of players on football trips or football all-star games. “So our press wasn’t consistent, but the last couple of games, it’s been more effective.”

Punahou did not trail in the first half, opening a 14-7 lead after a corner 3 by Kai Nafarrete and a drive to the hoop by Yoshi Kobayashi to end the first quarter.

After Kimura splashed a corner 3 and Makaula scored inside on a feed from Macapulay, the Buffanblu had a 24-15 lead.

The Lunas got a corner 3 from Pascua and a foul-line jumper by Flores to get within 28-24, but Noah Kameehonua came up with a steal in the paint and fed Makaula for an easy layup to give Punahou a 31-24 lead before halftime.

Twelve first-half turnovers by the Lunas compared to just five by Punahou was the biggest difference-maker.

Punahou’s 2-1-2 press seemed to confuse the Lunas in the third quarter. The Buffanblu went on a 13-4 tear, turning steals into easy layups. The Lunas had five giveaways during the run.

Makaula scored on a drive from the top, then fed Tamatoa Falatea for a bucket after a Lahainaluna turnover. Kimura scored on a drive from the top, and Makaula scored on another steal as Punahou opened the lead to 44-26 with 4:40 left in the third stanza.