Ethan Mgbako poured in 23 points as nationally ranked Oak Hill (Va.) rallied from a late third-quarter deficit for a 76-61 win over Punahou in the opening round of the ‘Iolani Prep Classic on Tuesday.
Mgbako was the Warriors’ go-to offensive weapon, covered tightly by Punahou’s Zion White all night. The 6-foot-6 junior shot 9-for-14 from the field, adding four rebounds and three steals for Oak Hill (12-1). The Warriors are ranked No. 24 in the nation by ESPN.
Oak Hill will face tonight’s Kamehameha-Imhotep Institute (Pa.) winner at 8 p.m. on Thursday.
Howard Williams added 17 points and Donovan Williams Jr. tallied 13.
“I definitely like that we got the win, but we need to get our legs underneath us. We got in late last night. You can blame me. I scheduled the flight, so it definitely had something to do with me,” Oak Hill coach Yerrick Stoneman said. “Still, our guys need to come out with a little bit more energy, a little bit more discipline on the defensive end. Those are some things that we’re going to look at tonight and we’ll talk about it at our walk-through. We’ve got a day off to get ready for our next game.”
Oak Hill had to dig deep and go to another level after falling behind 47-44 late in the third quarter.
“You’ve got to give the team that we played today a lot of credit. They played extremely hard,” Stoneman said. “They didn’t back down. They didn’t look at Oak Hill on the chest. They were aggressive. We normally get more offensive rebounds and I think we only had three in the game. That’s a credit to their coach and the guys on that team.”
Oak Hill actually had nine offensive boards, but it was often a scrum in the paint with a resilient Punahou defense.
Tanoa Scanlan scored 14 points and Ethan Chung, who hit three treys, chipped in 11 points for Punahou (8-3). White, a 6-5 junior, played with an injured shooting (right) hand and finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and 10 turnovers.
Punahou’s tough-nosed man-to-man defense gave Oak Hill a battle.
“We did a good job. They’re super athletic, fast and strong. We had to play a different strategy on defense, trying to stay in front,” Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. “We turned the ball over a little bit more than we want to, but watching film on that team they turn a lot of people over.”
The first quarter was a strange set of circumstances. Despite committing eight turnovers, six by White, Punahou trailed by only three points, 18-15.
Chung’s third trey opened the second quarter, tying the game at 18.
Oak Hill crashed the offensive glass with little resistance from the Buffanblu and went on a 10-2 run. After going scoreless for nearly six minutes against Oak Hill’s man-to-man defense, White fed Dash Watanabe for a wing 3. That sparked a 10-5 run by Punahou, which trailed at the half, 33-30.
Arguably the most athletic player on the court, White was dynamic. By halftime, he had six points, five rebounds, two blocks and seven turnovers. In the second half, however, White was a pivotal piece in Punahou’s surge.
He dished three assists, and drove for a scoop-shot layup to give Punahou a 42-41 lead with 3:08 to go in the third quarter. After Dane Kellner drove for a bucket and swished a corner 3, the Buffanblu led 47-44.
From there, the Warriors closed the third stanza with a 7-2 run, fueled by steals off fullcourt pressure, for a 51-49 lead.
Oak Hill kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run. Jean Victor Ndiaye scored inside, DeMarco Johnson stole a pass and glided in for a dunk, and Howard Williams powered inside for a traditional and-1 three-point play. Oak Hill led 60-49 early in the fourth quarter.
“Well, our guys are competitors. They didn’t play up to the level they can normally play. Once we got down, you can see Ethan Mgbako, his mind changed a little bit, especially on the offensive end,” Stoneman said.
Punahou cut the lead to 60-53, but Oak Hill answered with a 3 by Mgbako and a breakaway dunk off a steal by Johnson for a 65-53 lead.
Other games
‘Iolani 61, Kalani 36
Declan Beckette poured in 21 points, Ayden Goo had 15 and Aidan Wong scored 12 points as the host Raiders (8-3) advanced to the quarterfinals.
Keisen Takamiya and Dylan Kobayashi led the Falcons (4-7) with 11 points each.
Wheeler (Ga.) 101,
Leilehua 38
Colben Landrew splashed four first-quarter 3-pointers and finished with 21 points to lead the Wildcats (8-2) into the quarterfinal round. Kota Suttle Jr. also scored 21 points, while Dorian Starks and Jacob Taylor added 12 each.
Trystin Stevens led Leilehua (8-4) with 17 points.
Wheeler entered the Classic ranked No. 2 in Georgia and No. 26 nationally by ESPN. The Warriors will play the Kapaa-Brewster Academy (N.H.) winner at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
St. Paul VI (Va.) 86,
University 49
Jordan Smith Jr. pumped in 13 of his 17 points in the first half as the Panthers pulled away for victory. Lawrence Brown and Aaron Bryant scored 11 points each for St. Paul VI (5-1).
The Panthers are ranked No. 11 nationally by MaxPreps and No. 23 by ESPN.
Alika Ahu led ULS (7-3) with 14 points and Trey Ambrozich tallied 13.
