Christmas Togiai scored 14 points and Preston Ponteras connected on five of six free-throw attempts in the final 36 seconds as top-seeded Kamehameha outlasted Kahuku 48-39 in the Division I semifinals of the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.
Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Kamehameha (28-5) will meet league runner-up Maryknoll in tonight’s title game in a battle between the state’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams.
Togiai corralled a team-high six rebounds but went down awkwardly with 2:20 left. He didn’t land cleanly on a drive near the basket and was down for a minute. Togiai left the game, went to the trainer’s room and re-entered roughly a minute later, but finished the game back at the trainer’s room. He had ice wrapped around his right knee after the game. The mood was heavy on the Warriors’ bench after the final horn.
>> Photo Gallery: Boys basketball: Kahuku vs. Kamehameha
“I’m glad that we won. I just want to make sure that Christmas is OK,” said Kordel Ng, who had 12 points, two assists, two blocks and three steals. “He looked a little bit nervous, but once he finds out what it is, he’ll be OK.”
Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up Kahuku (18-7) will meet Damien for third place this afternoon.
“We fought hard. They made their run and we fought,” said Kahuku center Oscar Cheng, who finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds. “Its hard. We left everything on the floor. We didn’t come out with the win, but we made a special run. I feel for our seniors.”
Kamehameha led at the half, then fell behind by six in the third quarter.
“Kahuku outrebounded us in the first half. We had to match Kahuku’s intensity,” Warriors coach Larry Park said. “We didn’t shoot the ball real well in that first half. We wanted to make sure they stayed confident, so Paliku (Kamaka) hits one right in front of our bench to end that third quarter. We got a couple of shots, a couple of layups in transition, to get us that lead at the end of the third quarter.”
The first half had the feel of two boxers unwilling to go into knockout mode. The Warriors led 19-17 at intermission despite shooting just 36 percent from the field, including 1-for-12 from the 3-point arc. Kahuku’s 21-10 edge on the boards offset a whopping 12 turnovers. Cheng nearly had a double-double by the break, with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Red Raiders were still a bit sluggish to begin the second half, continuing to miss layups and easy scoring opportunities. Their tough man-to-man defense closed off most driving lanes for the slashing Warriors. Ng’s layup gave Kamehameha a 21-17 lead, but Kahuku went on an 8-0 run to seize the lead.
Robbie Sauvao was scoreless for Kahuku until he surged from the wing for an and-1 three-point play. He followed that with a corner 3 to give Kahuku the lead, 23-21. After Lokana Enos drove hard on the fast break for a bucket, Kahuku had momentum and a 25-21 lead.
Kamehameha answered with 3-pointers from Togiai and Ponteras for a 27-25 advantage. After Togiai drove hard and scored on an and-1 bucket, the Warriors had a 30-25 lead with 6.6 seconds left in the third period.
A steal by Ng led to a dish from Togiai to Kamaka, who splashed a wing 3 in transition to open the lead to 33-25 with 7:40 to go. That capped a 12-0 run.
Kamehameha was still up by five when Togiai went down.
Enos’ fast-break layup cut the lead to 40-36 with 2:07 remaining. After Ng’s free throw, it was a five-point lead. Togiai returned to the game, Enos air-balled a 3 and Ng missed a layup. Bailey Lee fouled Amari Westmoreland-Vendiola on the rebound, and the sophomore made one of two foul shots, cutting the lead to 41-37 with 1:01 to go.
Ng missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Sauvao missed two free throws with 51 seconds left.
EJ Kapihe stepped up and sank two foul shots for a 43-37 lead with 48.8 seconds to go. After a long miss from 3 by Sauvao, Ponteras hit two free throws for a 45-37 lead with 36.2 ticks left.
Kahuku got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
