Iolani's Erik Yamada goes up for a shot attempt in the paint against Lahainaluna. Steve Erler | Special to SL

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022615_02_25_15_laihanaluna_iolani_steve_erler_32.jpg - Steve Erler | Special to SL

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Although all four seeded teams fell for the first time in the history of the state tournament Thursday night, defending state champion Iolani lives on.

The Raiders overcame an early eight-point deficit to advance past sixth-ranked Lahainaluna, 44-34 in the quarterfinal round of the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Division I Championships at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium. They will move on to face Campbell for the second straight year in the semifinals.

Iolani, ranked No. 4 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Power Rankings, had a relatively balanced scoring attack with four players finishing with eight or more points. Senior point guard Erik Yamada led the way with a game-high 13 points. Zach Gelacio added 10 more, Robby Mann had nine and Hugh Hogland finished with eight points.

"Everyone knows that they can contribute on this team," said Yamada, who was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line. "If someone is off one night, someone else will step up. I think that's what makes us a good team. It's not just one guy doing all the work. We each contribute in our own way."

Hogland, a 6-for-8 sophomore center, was a strong presence in the paint with nine rebounds and three blocks. He also set the offensive tempo for the Raiders, scoring on his first four field goal attempts.

"I think this was his best game yet," said Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto. "He was working really hard on both ends. When he's doing that, he's a load. I love it when he's active, our team loves it when he's active."

Lahainaluna, the Maui Interscholastic League champion, jumped out to an early 14-6 lead thanks to a hot shooting start from beyond the arc (3-for-4). Hogland's bucket before the end of the opening period made it a six-point game heading into the second quarter.

"I think we just came out a little flat," explained Yamada. "We weren't picking up the shooters. After we kind of woke up a bit, we were able to identify them better and get a hand up. They're good shooters, so when we were asleep they knocked them down."

Iolani opened up the second period on a 9-2 run, and took its first lead of the game, 17-16 on a left wing triple from Gelacio. Lahainaluna's Cyrus Kama notched two straight baskets to retake the lead, 20-17, before the Raiders went on another 9-2 run to close out the first half. Iolani led 26-22 at the break.

It was all Iolani the rest of the way. The Raiders held Lahainaluna to four points in the third quarter, pushing their lead to seven heading into the final period of regulation. In the fourth quarter, Iolani was able to hold the Lunas without a point until Ryan Madera's free throws at the 1:18 mark.

"We couldn't execute any of our offense," said Lahainaluna coach Jason Justus. "Iolani is an outstanding disciplined team. Its really hard to rattle them. We bank on our defense to create offense and unfortunately we couldn't do that tonight."

Lahainaluna was held to 35.1 percent shooting (13-for-37) while Iolani shot 42.9 percent from the field (15-for-35). The Raiders outbounded the Lunas, 32-14, and led by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter.

Josh Chapital had 10 points to lead the Lunas in the scoring column. Kama scored all of his eight points in the second quarter and Marvin Sidon had six points on two first quarter triples.

Tip-off between Iolani and Campbell is slated for 5 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Sabers defeated No. 2 Farrington, 51-45 in the first quarterfinal at McKinley.