Punahou head coach Darren Matsuda wasn’t particularly pleased with the Buffanblu’s defensive performance in the opening round of the state tournament on Wednesday.
Punahou was considerably stingier in its quarterfinal matchup with King Kekaulike and continued its defense of the Division I boys basketball title with a 56-32 victory Thursday at Moanalua.
The Buffanblu held the third-seeded Na Alii to single-digit scoring in three of the four quarters and limited them to 13 points in the second half while advancing to the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship.
"Yesterday we didn’t play a very good defensive game and we told our kids if we’re going to win we have to win with defense," Matsuda said of Punahou’s opening-round 63-50 win over Farrington in which the Buffanblu rallied from a 13-point deficit.
"That’s a very good (King Kekaulike) team. They have really good bigs, they have a good wing in Chase (Iwata-Bartelme) and a good point guard so it was going to be a challenge."
Punahou (10-4) plays in today’s 5 p.m. semifinal game at Blaisdell Arena. King Kekaulike (14-1) plays in the fifth-place bracket at 3 p.m.
As in Punahou’s win over Farrington on Wednesday, Buffanblu senior Nick Velasquez had a quiet first quarter before sparking the Punahou offense in the second and third periods.
The first of his three 3-pointers sent Punahou on a 12-2 run midway through the second quarter. He then accounted for 11 of the Buffanblu’s 16 points in the third quarter and finished with a game-high 19.
He also drew the defensive assignment on Iwata-Bartelme for much of the game and helped limit him to 10 points, and just one field goal in the second half.
"Nick’s done a good job of that all season," Matsuda said. "He had to guard a lot of other teams’ best players. He usually gets the job on the wing. He did a good job of it. It takes a lot of energy to play offensive and defensively."
Forward Daniel Andrews also sparked the Buffanblu with eight points in the first half, including two dunks, and closed the game with 12 points.
King Kekaulike knocked off defending state champion Kamehameha in its state tournament debut last year. Na Alii returned as Maui Interscholastic League champion and again opened the tournament opposite the reigning champ. This time they couldn’t string together enough buckets to keep up with the Buffanblu.
"They outplayed us tonight," King Kekaulike head coach Bill Naylor said. "We were prepared, we were ready, we’re not going to make any excuse for anything we did tonight. They outplayed us."
Forward Jacob Havron led Na Alii with 11 points.
At Moanalua
PUNAHOU (10-4) 10 17 16 13 — 56
KING KEKAULIKE (14-1) 8 11 8 5 — 32
PUNAHOU—Randon Oda 3, Jordan Tanuvasa 1, Jared Lum 0, Micah Ma’a 3, Justin Kam 6, Dayson Watanabe 0, Zach Grief 0, Kala’i Santos 2, Daniel Andrews 12, Kanawai Noa 2, Nick Velasquez 19, Ronley Lakalaka 0, Blake Lyon 0, Kupono Fey 8, Davis Miyashiro‐Saipa’ia 0, Canton Kaumatule 0, Semisi Uluave 0.
KING KEKAULIKE—Jansen Agapay 5, Aaron Monoogan 0, Junell Alfonso 0, Alroy Ferreira 1, Chase Iwata‐Bartelme 10, Elijah Engoring 0, Colton Beesley 0, Austin Ferreira 0, Logan Birch 0, Jordan Mauliola 2, Jacob Havron 11, Gabe Gunter 3.
3-point goals—Punahou 4 (Velasquez 3, Oda). King Kekaulike 2 (Iwata-Bartelme 2).
