For a 34-second sequence in the fourth quarter, Punahou kept shooting, missing and cleaning up the offensive boards.

‘Akahi Troske had four of the Buffanblu’s five offensive rebounds during that span, and he converted one of them into the go-ahead basket as Punahou went on to beat Lahainaluna 57-47 in Thursday’s quarterfinals of the OC 16/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament at Moanalua.

The Buffanblu (11-6) will play Kahuku in Friday’s 5 p.m. semifinal at the Stan Sheriff Center.

“‘Akahi is a senior, even when he was an underclassman, he’s given a pretty good effort,” said Punahou coach Darren Matsuda. “He’s athletic and just hustles. It really helps us and takes himself to another level.”

Troske finished with 18 points and 20 rebounds — 10 of them coming on the offensive end. His putback put Punahou ahead for good at 46-44 with 2:45 remaining. Lahainaluna (13-2) then missed an off-balance layup attempt and Christopher Kobayashi made a layup to extend the lead to 48-44, forcing Lahainaluna to call a timeout with 2:22 remaining.

Troske then blocked Lahainaluna’s Jefferson Locke and Punahou made nine of 10 free throws to close out the win. Punahou outrebounded Lahainaluna 36 to 18, and Lunas coach Jason Justus said the rebounding margin hurt his squad — particularly during that sequence in the fourth.

“Unfortunately we gave up five offensive rebounds and that was pretty much the momentum killer,” Justus said.

Lahainaluna erased an early 11-point deficit, took the lead in the third quarter and led 44-40 after Locke hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth. Punahou then held Lahainaluna scoreless for the next six minutes and the Lunas didn’t score until Jeremi Santos’ two free throws with 49.8 seconds remaining. Santos led the Lunas with 15 points and Locke and Tavaki Faleta scored 10 each.

Punahou’s defense made up for another tough shooting night where it shot 37 percent from the field. Punahou shot 36 percent in an overtime win over Leilehua in Wednesday’s first round.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Matsuda said. “The only way, last night we didn’t do very well either, it’s going to be the defense that closes it out, especially when we’re not shooting well.”

Punahou’s reserves hit four of its team’s five 3-pointers in the first half as the Buffanblu led 23-12 with 6:03 left in the second quarter. Punahou then went cold from the field and Lahainaluna attacked inside, using a 10-0 run to close to 23-22 with 2:07 remaining.

Gage Johnson hit two free throws to help the Lunas close to 28-27 with 53.9 seconds. Troske’s layup gave Punahou a 30-27 halftime lead.

“Punahou, how much tradition they have, the coaching staff they have is unreal,” Justus said. “They’ve been in this situation for a very long time and they teach that to their kids. I’ve got a young group, this is the only time they’ve been to the state tournament, so it’s just a lot of pressure on themselves and it’s a different season over here.”

Punahou played without center Jack-Eli Tufono, who hyperextended his knee is Wednesday’s game.

‘Iolani 43, Baldwin 27

The top-seeded Raiders turned a six-point halftime lead into a runaway during the third quarter. Helam Baldomero, known more for his ballhawking defense, led ‘Iolani with 14 points. Center Hugh Hogland scored just four points, but completely dismantled Baldwin’s inside game with five blocks.

“We respect them as a team, but we didn’t have to worry about (guarding) shooters compared to the ILH,” Baldomero said. “So I had more energy. We worked a lot on shooting the past week. Coach Dean (Shimamoto) prepared us to attack man and zone defenses.”

Chayse Akaka led Baldwin, the MIL runner-up, with nine points.

Baldomero’s corner 3, plus two blocks by Hogland, highlighted an 8-0 start. Hogland committed an offensive foul and went to the bench, allowing Baldwin to answer with six points in a row.

Hogland returned to spark a mini 4-0 run. ‘Iolani led at the half, 14-8.

The Raiders took command in the third quarter with an 18-4 run, sparked by another corner 3 by Baldomero.

“It’s great to see. He works so hard on defense,” Shimamoto said. “We knew he was always capable.”

‘Iolani led 32-12 late in the period.

“We had a hard time generating any offense,” Bears coach Wayne Gushiken said. “(Shimamoto) could’ve thrown his best five at us any time (in the second quarter). They were nice to us. Fundamentally, they’re really sound and do a great job of moving the ball around.”

The Raiders will meet Kaiser, a team that spent several weeks atop the Star-Advertiser Top 10 poll during the regular season.

“Kaiser is one of the top teams in the state and Chance (Kalaugher) is one of the top players in the state,” Shimamoto said. “It’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out game.”

Kahuku 72, Kalaheo 52

The Red Raiders opened up the third quarter with a 12-1 run to pull away and shock the Mustangs.

Kahuku outscored second-seeded and OIA champion Kalaheo 18-5 in the third to turn a six-point halftime lead into a 45-26 lead.

Keanu Akina finished with 25 points and Hirkley Latu added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Kahuku (11-6). Brad Anae and Kawika Akina scored 13 points each for Kahuku, which made 20 of 26 free throws in the game’s final six minutes as the Red Raiders were fouled on nearly every possession. Kahuku finished 23 of 31 from the free throw line.

Kekai Smith led Kalaheo (12-3) with 26 points. Captain Whitlock scored 13 and Alex Layi scored 12.