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DeForest Buckner's putback at the buzzer gave Punahou a thrilling overtime victory over Farrington, 53-52, Monday night at the Saint Francis Merv Lopes Hoops Classic.

The Buffanblu advance to today's 7 p.m. quarterfinal against Pearl City at Manoa District Park Gym. The Governors, who compete in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's White (Division II) Conference, fall into a 10 a.m. consolation matchup vs. Castle.

Buckner's putback came off a miss by Malik Johnson's 15-foot jumper from the left corner. Farrington protested, saying it came after the buzzer, but the officiating crew confirmed the basket without a conference.

With noise from the capacity crowd of about 500 drowning out the buzzer, it was difficult to hear exactly when the horn sounded.

"We heard it go off before (Buckner's shot)," Govs coach Allan Silva said. "But those things happen."

Viane Vaina's putback with eight seconds remaining had given Farrington a 52-51 lead, and Punahou called timeout with 6.8 ticks left.

When play resumed, Patrick O'Neill quickly dribbled up the floor and dished to Johnson, who appeared to take a jab step forward before pulling up for the baseline jumper.

The ball glanced off the rim and into the hands of Buckner, who jumped for the rebound on the right side of the basket, landed and then laid in the game-winner.

The frantic finish ended an intriguing matchup that was tight throughout.

Buckner's putback just before halftime gave the Buffanblu a 21-20 lead at the break, and a layup by Luke O'tutulupeatau Kaumataule put Punahou ahead, 35-28, with 56 seconds remaining in the third period.

But the Governors closed it to 36-33 when J.P. Saycon drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer, and tied it at 40-40 on Jeffrey Madarang's 3-pointer with 4:04 left in regulation.

Nicholas Velasquez sank two free throws to give the Buffanblu a 48-46 lead with 15.2 seconds remaining, but Saycon's pair of foul shots with two ticks left tied it again and a rushed 3-point attempt by Punahou was off the mark at the buzzer.

O'Neill made the front end of a one-and-one to put Punahou ahead, 51-50, with 26.5 seconds left, but he missed the second attempt and Farrington took the lead back on Vaina's putback off a missed 3-pointer.

Despite the controversial finish, Silva said the Govs had opportunities to pull ahead earlier.

"We should have won it in the first, second, third and fourth quarters," he said.


MERV LOPES HOOPS CLASSIC - OPENING ROUND

Pearl City 51, Castle 44
Damien 55, Kapolei 49
Leilehua 41, Kalaheo 37
Kamehameha II 77, Christian Academy 33
Kamehameha-Hawai'i 50, Kahuku 41
Kailua 52, Saint Louis 41
Houston (Alaska) 43, Saint Francis, 41

TUESDAY'S SCHEDULE

10 a.m. - Castle vs. Farrington
11:30 a.m. - Christian Academy vs. Saint Francis
1 p.m. - Kapolei vs. Saint Louis
2:30 p.m. - Kahuku vs. Kalaheo
3:30 p.m. - Damien vs. Kailua (new gym)
4 p.m. - Kamehameha-Hawai'i vs. Leilehua
5:30 p.m. - Kamehameha II vs. Houston (Alaska)
7 p.m. - Pearl City vs. Punahou