Makai Barr scored 15 points and Kainoa Wade had 12 points and 16 rebounds as visiting Kamehameha stunned No. 10-ranked ‘Iolani 51-42 on Tuesday night in the opening round of the ILH boys basketball playoffs.

Christian Togiai added 12 points as the Warriors avenged two close regular-season losses to the Raiders. Kamehameha (14-15 overall) will meet two-time defending state champion Saint Louis, which ousted Mid-Pacific 67-54, at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Crusaders’ gym in an elimination game.

“This team worked too hard to come up short. We’ve been putting in the work day in and day out going at it. This is a result of what we’ve been doing,” Wade said.

On Jan. 13, ‘Iolani won the first matchup 44-43. Twelve days later, the Raiders beat the Warriors 47-45. That did little to discourage Kamehameha, which pushed the tempo in the final quarter Tuesday to get tough buckets by Barr and Nahiku Nahale-a in traffic.

“Coach said that’s our strength, transition. The regular season doesn’t matter, so we’ve got to keep winning games,” said Barr, a 6-foot-1 guard who crashed the offensive glass for two putbacks.

For three quarters the game seemed destined for a last-possession finish. Guard Aidan Wong shot 5-for-6 from the field for 12 points as the home team took a 29-25 lead over Kamehameha into the final quarter.

Barr’s transition layup gave the visitors a 37-36 lead early in the fourth quarter. After Togiai powered inside for a basket, the lead was 43-39 with 4:13 remaining.

A difficult left-handed layup by Barr opened the lead to 45-39 with 2:57 to go. ‘Iolani cut the lead to 45-42 on free throws by Mana Lau Kong and Nela Taliauli, but Nahale-a drove on the fast break right into Lau Kong, a 6-5 center, and banked home a layup for a 47-42 lead with 1:05 left.

Kamehameha put the game away with four free throws in the final 40.6 seconds.

“Kamehameha played well. Like every team in the ILH, they’re tough. Really good off the bounce. They shoot really good midrange. They can hit 3s, and they hit shots in the fourth quarter. They scored 20 points in the fourth,” Raiders coach Ryan Hirata said. “Whenever you get into a tournament setting, anything can happen. They’re going to get a chance to play Saint Louis and who knows. They might be able to make a run, too.”

Playing his last varsity season of basketball, Wade was at his best. The 6-9 center blocked three shots and controlled the paint against the league’s tallest team. ‘Iolani center Lau Kong finished with four points. He shot 1-for-6 from the field against the taller Wade.

Wade plans to complete high school in the fall, then enroll at UH to play volleyball in the spring of 2025.

‘Iolani had plenty of open looks from the high post against Kamehameha’s 2-3 matchup zone but couldn’t get the shots to drop consistently. Taliauli, who hit three smooth jumpers from the elbow areas, finished with 12 points, as did Luke Tobin.

It was a bittersweet loss in a season of heartbreaking, down-to-the-wire losses for ‘Iolani (12-15 overall).

“It’s hard whenever you end your last game and you’re not holding up the koa trophy. For the six seniors we have, I saw them all grow up. For this to be their last game, that was tough,” Hirata said. “It doesn’t take away from the kids and the people they are. For the underclassmen coming back, we’ve got to get to work now. We’ve got to be better. One team holds up the koa trophy. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be us this year, but we’ve got to be able to keep pounding away.”