Sophomore Tanoa Scanlan had 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists as No. 3 Punahou fought off Gig Harbor (Wash.) 52-47 Monday night in the championship game of the Punahou Invitational at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
Zion White hustled for seven points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Dane Kellner and Tate Takamiya chipped in eight points apiece. Ethan Chung also had seven points for Punahou (15-3).
It was a stellar tourney for the home team, posting four wins, including a 63-61 overtime battle against Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.) on Saturday.
“Gig Harbor plays matchup zone. Not a lot of guys play matchup. They threw a loop into what a lot of teams tried to do. They’re big and physical,” Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. “When you play a matchup zone, the golden rule is you run a man offense.”
That allowed Punahou to get some open looks for shooters like Takamiya.
Michael Masini led Gig Harbor (7-5) with 13 points. He had nine in the second half as the Tides cut an 18-point deficit to five points with less than two minutes remaining. The 6-foot-8 junior corralled a game-high nine rebounds and added two steals.
“We were emphasizing moving the ball and moving with purpose. You have to do that against that team,” Matsuda said. “Once we got into rotating the ball, being patient, we did better. We can’t be impatient.”
Cole Browne added 10 points and Quentin Brockhorn chipped in nine.
“This tournament is good for the type of teams we play back home,” Tides coach Billy Landram said. “I was very impressed with No. 5 (Scanlan). Our kids had a good time here and it was a great tournament.”
The first quarter swung back and forth. Punahou opened a 6-1 lead before Gig surged ahead. Brockhorn’s 3 from the right wing gave the Tides an 8-6 lead.
Punahou answered with a 3 from Chung, sparking a 19-6 run. Punahou’s swarming fullcourt pressure and tough man defense harassed the visitors into an uncharacteristic 14 first-half turnovers.
Takamiya was a spark plug off the bench, scoring on a layup, a jumper in the paint, and then another layup on a coast-to-coast steal as the Buffanblu opened a 15-8 lead in the second quarter.
After Kayle Kaneshiro’s assist to Kellner beat the shot clock, the lead was eight. After White soared for a slam dunk off a steal, the lead was 25-14.
Chung scored inside on two layups and it was 29-15 with one minute left in the first half.
The home team used a 6-0 spurt to open a 35-17 lead early in the third quarter but went flat. The Buffanblu committed their fifth team foul with just under four minutes left in the quarter. Masini and Ty Buchanan combined for six made free throws as the Tides got within 38-30 on a 3-pointer from Masini.
White committed his fourth foul in the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter as Masini continued to work the post.
Gig Harbor chipped the lead down to five points, 46-41, on a layup by Browne with 1:50 remaining. Punahou extended the lead to 49-41 on free throws by Scanlan and Kellner.
The Tides kept rising. Brockhorn’s wing 3 brought them within 49-44 with 29.7 seconds left, but they got no closer.
Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.) 55, Casa Roble (Orangevale, Calif.) 38,
Borgan Howell and Jackson Pierce scored 12 points each as the Bullpups (8-2) stifled the Rams in a 9:30 a.m. game. The third-place game was moved up to an early tip-off time because Casa Roble had to make a lunch-hour flight home.
Benny Ambriz led Casa Roble (12-3) with 21 points, connecting on seven of eight at the free-throw line.
Punahou I-AA 66, Molokai 44
Cary Ching and Troy Sarsuelo led the I-AA Buffanblu (5-10) with 13 points apiece. Braylen Colon, Tyshonn Harper and Jarius Torres-Umi paced Molokai (4-6, 4-2 MIL D-II) with 14 points each.
Woodside Priory (Portola Valley, Calif.) 67, Damien 56
Jai Georedette pumped in 18 points, while Teddy Xanthopoulos tallied 17 for the Panthers (9-3).
Junior AJ Tuifua scored 13 points and Levi Damo-Agcaoili added 12 for Damien (9-8).
Hawaii Prep 61, Saint Louis I-AA 38
Vander Eberhard, a 6-8 sophomore, poured in 22 points, while Cam Root scored 16 and Kingdon Simmons chipped in 10 for Ka Makani (7-5). Chase Nunes hit three treys and led the Crusaders with 11 points.
Menlo (Atherton, Calif.) 55, Hanalani 30
Arman Shah connected on three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points to lead Menlo (8-3). Aidan Stull and Ethan Zhao added 10 points each.
Mycah Lucas led the Royals (5-8) with 13 points while Xavier Canoy added nine.
Hawaii Baptist 46, Kauai 42
Matthew Shigetani and Colton Wong led the Eagles (8-11) with 12 points apiece. Reese Jenkins had 15 for Kauai and Camren Holt-Ho 12.
Kamehameha-Hawaii 61, Ayala (Chino Hills, Calif.) 57
Kawohi Huihui scored 19 points, Kiai Yasso had 12 and Justin Ondo splashed three treys and finished with 11 points for the Warriors (16-6). Joshua Townsell led Ayala (13-6) with 20 points, while Milo Tun chipped in 12.
