Jakob Kimura scored 12 points and Kaulana Makaula added 11 as No. 3 Punahou edged No. 2 ‘Iolani 50-44 on Thursday night at the Father Bray Athletic Complex.
Punahou improved to 8-3 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, ending a rare two-game skid. Makaula, their defensive Swiss army knife, happened to be on a visit to USC during that losing streak. He orally committed to play football for the Trojans, but the Buffanblu dearly missed him in losses to St. Francis and Maryknoll.
“At the beginning, I had a little bit of jitters. It’s always exciting to come to ‘Iolani on their senior night,” Makaula said.
The 6-foot-3 senior added two blocked shots and solidified a rugged Punahou man-to-man defense that stifled the home team.
“He leads us in every statistical category. He’s an underrated passer and he makes a lot happen. He brings a lot of energy. He’s got a lot of dog in him,” Buffanblu coach Darren Matsuda said. “We knew January was going to be tough. We’ve got a lot of guys in and out of practice, on trips, so we were a step slow. But our energy and our defense were there tonight. That’s our main focus, getting back to our chemistry, playing well together.”
‘Iolani was precise at the free-throw line (13-for-13), but was 5-for-24 (21 percent) from the 3-point arc against the tall, athletic Buffanblu (23-4 overall). In their previous meeting at Punahou, the Buffanblu pulled out a 57-56 win.
“We have to work so hard to execute, and when they’re as big and athletic as they are and the hand checks aren’t being called, it wears us down,” Raiders coach Dean Shimamoto said.
Frank Felix scored 15 points and Kawika Lee tallied 10 as ‘Iolani dropped to 7-4 in ILH play (19-8 overall).
Punahou began to pull away in the second quarter, taking a 15-14 lead on a steal and layup by Makaula. After Tamatoa Falatea fed Duke Clemens for a bucket and Noah Kameehonua drove for another deuce, the visitors had a 19-14 lead late in the second quarter.
Despite 5-for-18 shooting from the field and 10 turnovers, the Raiders pulled within 22-18 at the half.
The Buffanblu stretched the lead to 36-28 after two free throws by Kimura late in the third stanza. In the final quarter, Maninoa Tufono swished two foul shots to open the lead to 38-28, Punahou’s widest margin of the game.
‘Iolani’s fullcourt pressure was effective and the Raiders went on an 11-3 run to get within 41-39. Punahou was still ahead 42-40 when Falatea splashed a wing 3 on an inbounds pass from Peyton Macapulay with 2:25 remaining.
Clemens scored a basket on a feed from Kimura and Makaula hustled for a follow shot for a 49-40 lead with a minute to go.
Punahou visits Saint Louis on Monday in the regular-season finale. Also on that day, ‘Iolani will travel to Kamehameha.
No. 1 Maryknoll 58, Mid-Pacific 33
The defending ILH champion Spartans wrapped up the regular-season title with a victory over the host Owls on Thursday night.
Seniors Marcus Tobin and Makoto Kamata finished with 14 and 13 points for No. 1-ranked Maryknoll (10-1), which clinched a state-tournament berth and the No. 1 seed in the ILH postseason tournament.
The Spartans have won six in a row since a one-point loss to Kamehameha and are in the state tournament for the fourth time in seven years. Prior to 2013, Maryknoll hadn’t advanced to states since 1991.
Kamana Lapina scored a game-high 15 points for the Owls (3-8).
Maryknoll closes the regular season with a rematch at Kamehameha on Saturday, while Mid-Pacific plays at St. Francis.
AT ‘IOLANI
Punahou (23-4, 8-3) 11 11 14 14 — 50
‘Iolani (19-8, 7-4) 12 6 10 16 — 44
Punahou: Yoshi Kobayashi 0, Jakob Kimura 12, Peyton Macapulay 5, Maninoa Tufono 2, Tamatoa Falatea 7, Noah Kameehonua 2, Kai Nafarette 2, Kaulana Makaula 11, Ryder Hsiung 2, Duke Clemens 8.
‘Iolani: Noah Bumanglag 7, Frank Felix 15, Sam Wheeler 6, Wesley Yamada 6, Kawika Lee 10, Andrew Dawson 0, Shayden Molina 0, Kilo Scanlan 0
3-point goals: Punahou none, ‘Iolani 5 (Felix 2, Yamada 2, Bumanglag).
