Liko Soares scored 16 points, including six in a row during a late run, and No. 1 Maryknoll outlasted No. 5 Punahou 44-32 on Saturday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
Maryknoll improved to 4-1 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. Punahou dropped to 2-1 in league play.
Senior guard Niko Robben added eight points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal for the Spartans. Coach Kelly Grant’s team keeps rolling along with a methodical, precise offense and a relentless man-to-man defense. Punahou, however, offered a lot of danger.
“Breaking their press and getting to the basket was important,” Robben said, noting the progress of his younger teammates. “Our practices is where we do a lot of reps, going against each other. Our (reserves) go against us every day.”
Maryknoll never trailed, handling Punahou’s fullcourt press with success — just nine turnovers. The visiting Spartans got two 3-pointers from guard Parker Grant to open an 11-3 lead during the opening quarter. After reserve forward Irvin Lin splashed a corner 3, the lead was 10. Soares hit all three of his low-post shots in the second quarter as Maryknoll opened a 28-14 lead.
Soares had 10 points by halftime. By then, Punahou was down 28-17.
The Buffanblu got a pair of buckets by Kanoa Kalahiki to cut the lead to 32-26. The home team couldn’t get a consistent run, however, with Maryknoll’s 7-foot sophomore, Sage Tolentino, protecting the rim. Punahou’s 6-9 center, Jordan Deshawn Hepting, scored inside on a couple of attacks, and after he fed Yoshi Kobayashi for a baseline jumper, the Buffanblu were within 34-30 early in the fourth quarter.
They had no answer for Soares. The 6-2 senior waited on the block as Noah Furtado, Logan Dias and Robben slashed into the paint and dished to him for three buckets in a row. Maryknoll led 40-30 with 2:31 remaining and wasn’t threatened again.
Hepting, Kalahiki and Kobayashi led Punahou (12-7 overall) with eight points apiece. Hepting added six rebounds and one block.
Punahou had its chances, but shot 3-for-20 from 3-point range. They attempted just four free throws and made three.
“We weren’t hitting our shots. Hat’s off to Maryknoll’s defense. Sage is a great defensive player, but we’ve got to be smart and not take fadeaway (shots),” Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said.
Matsuda referred to Kamehameha, which edged Maryknoll earlier in the week.
“Kamehameha did a good job of probing (the defense). It’s back to the drawing board for us. We need to have a short memory and keep moving on,” he said.
Punahou plays at first-place Kamehameha on Tuesday. Maryknoll is on the road Thursday with a battle at Damien.
