Thirty-five years later, the Maryknoll Spartans are at the top of the boys basketball universe again.

Marcus Tobin, their 6-foot-7 wing, scored 17 points and guard Makoto Kamata tallied 16, including 8-for-8 shooting at the free-throw line, as the top-seeded Spartans overwhelmed Punahou 50-34 on Saturday night for the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championship.

“We know playing in this ILH, there’s a lot of pressing, so we have a lot of press breakers and a knowledge of how to break it, and it’s really hard to get us to turn the ball over,” Spartans coach Kelly Grant said.

In a battle with Punahou for a fourth time this season — the Spartans won the first three — Maryknoll was methodically efficient with only six turnovers, including none as they took a 21-11 lead into the half.

“When you play a team a fourth time, they’re going to know what your tendencies are. We have three guys who are excellent at getting inside the defense, and we have guys like Makoto who hit 3-point shots. We have the total package,” Grant said.

The last time Maryknoll (30-2) won the state crown was in 1984, when current head coach Kelly Grant was a senior guard playing for then-coach Tony Sellitto. The two talked earlier in the day, as they often do. The scenario this time compared to ’84, a little different.

“There was so much pressure. I don’t show it, but when I was on the team that won the championship, nobody expected us to win it,” Grant said. “But this team with four seasoned seniors, a lot of pressure. Everybody was telling me, ‘This is your year,’ but that’s still not my approach to the game. We had to finish.’”

Kamata was everything the Spartans needed offensively, taking the ball hard to the bucket against a normally stingy Punahou defense. Tobin was rim protector and clutch shooter. It was tough man-to-man defense, though, that separated Maryknoll from the pack this season. Payton Grant, Kalai Akaka (eight points), Nikko Robben and the rest of the Spartans shut down the speedy Buffanblu.

Maryknoll shot 50 percent from the field (16-for-32) against Punahou’s tweak — a 2-3 matchup zone that wasn’t revealed until title night. The Buffanblu struggled again in their fourth loss to Maryknoll in as many tries, shooting 27 percent from the field (11-for-41), including 3-for-16 from the arc. Maryknoll also did what almost nobody else in the state could, committing only six turnovers against Punahou’s determined, athletic defenders.

Jakob Kimura led Punahou (29-6), ranked No. 2 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10. Duke Clemens added nine points and six rebounds. Coming into the game, the Buffanblu had been 12-0 on neutral turf.

Punahou showed a 2-3 matchup zone that seemed to catch Maryknoll a bit off guard. The slow, uneasy tempo followed, but the pace picked up with Kamata’s coast-to-coast bucket, a blur past a normally air-tight Buffanblu defense. After Kalai Akaka scored on a runner off the glass with :02 left in the first quarter, Maryknoll led 9-6.

Tobin scored off a loose ball in the paint, and after Akaka hit a foul shot, Maryknoll had its largest lead at 12-6 early in the second quarter. Punahou cut into the margin with a 3 from sophomore Ryder Hsiung and a coast-to-coast layup by Makaula. However, Makaula was called for a charging foul moments later, then picked up his third foul on defense with 4:01 to go and went to the bench.

Punahou stuck to its zone, but kept fouling. Maryknoll was in the bonus with 3:32 left in the first half. Thirty seconds later, Tufono injured a leg as he was called for a blocking foul on a Tobin baseline drive. With 2:26 left, Clemens committed his third foul as Kamata sliced through the zone to the basket.

Punahou just never looked comfortable enough abstaining from its usual man defense, particularly after Maryknoll attacked gaps.

Leading 19-11 in the final 2 minutes, Maryknoll spread the court and drained time off the clock. Kamata’s corner 3 missed, but Tobin leaped high for the long rebound and hit a 17-foot fadeaway before the buzzer to give the Spartans their biggest lead of the first half, 21-11.

The most ridiculous statistic of the first half: Maryknoll’s zero turnovers.

Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” pumped through Stan Sheriff Center at halftime and had Buffanblu fans singing along and revved up. It did nothing, though, to slow the Spartans. They opened the second half with an 8-3 run, getting a driving bank shot by Kamata to stretch the lead to 29-14.

Clemens then picked up his fourth foul with 3:54 to go in the third.

Out of the TV time out, the Spartans executed a new play and it led to a lob from Payton Grant to Tobin for a two-handed flush. Kamata scored on another fastbreak layup, and it was 33-14 with less than 3 minutes left in the third stanza.

Kimura fed Clemens for a bucket on the low post, and Maryknoll sent Soares back in the game. Clemens then air-balled a jump hook, but scored on a baseline spin for a three-point play.

Maryknoll led 35-19 after three quarters. Punahou got no closer than 10 the rest of the way.