Iolani's Ikaika Phillip puts up a shot over Maryknoll's Kamakana Winquist. Melissa Ing | SL

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Iolani's Zachary Buscher and Maryknoll's Joshua Burnett battle for a loose ball on the final play of the game. Melissa Ing | SL

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Iolani's Erik Yamada attempts to get a shot off in traffic against Maryknoll. Melissa Ing | SL

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Maryknoll's Kaleb Gilmore soars in the air as Iolani's Pikai Winchester looks to make a pass. Melissa Ing | SL

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Maryknoll's Kamakana Winquist drives to the basket against Iolani. Melissa Ing | SL

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Iolani's Zachary Buscher drives to the basket against Maryknoll. Melissa Ing | SL

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Fri, Feb 14, 2014 @ Maryknoll

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Iolani

37

Maryknoll

35

Final	1	2	3	4
Iolani (10-3, 23-7)	7	9	9	12	37
Maryknoll (10-3, 26-6)	9	11	5	10	35

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

K. Gilmore 16 pts  2 3pm  8/11 FTs

I. Phillip 18 pts  1 3pm  1/4 FTs

J. Burnett 7 tot  2 off  5 def

I. Phillip 7 tot  7 def

K. Gilmore 1 ast

Z. Buscher 1 ast

MAKIKI – With the way these two teams are playing, who wouldn’t want to see a round four?

Iolani, ranked No. 2 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, outscored top-ranked Maryknoll by six in the second half to come away with a 37-35 victory in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I Single Elimination Tournament finale at the Clarence T. C. Ching Gymnasium Friday night. The Raiders’ win forces a playoff game for the league overall title tomorrow 6:30 p.m., at the same venue.

“Our kids are resilient,” exclaimed Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto. “We were down four at the half, we made up ground, and then it went back and forth. We got stops when we needed to, and got buckets when we needed to. Credit to our guys, tough kids.” 

Maryknoll, the ILH regular season champion, had had the Raiders’ number prior to the contest, winning both regular season meetings, 69-60 and 39-37. The Raiders’ most recent loss to the Spartans was a result of a turnover on the Raiders’ final offensive possession.

“It didn’t haunt us,” Shimamoto said on their early losses to Maryknoll. “Every loss has really taught us something.  I think we cleaned a lot of those (mistakes) today.” 

The lessons learned from their previous losses revealed themselves in crunch time as Maryknoll turned the ball over six times in the final period, nearly equaling their total turnovers from the first three quarters.

“We had some difficulty,” said Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant. “We turned the ball about four or five times in the last four minutes; you cannot win the championship playing like that.”

Leading the way for the Raiders was Ikaika Phillip who finished with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds. Phillip was the spark to the Raiders’ second half surge, scoring the first six points of the third quarter to give Iolani their first lead of the game, 22-20. 

“I was just tired of losing to Maryknoll so I just took it upon my hands and I just finished,” said Phillip. 

“We have to find a answer for Phillip,” Grant added. “Right now we don’t know who to matchup with him tomorrow because he’s such a nightmare to defend because he can go inside and outside.” 

Another key factor in the Raiders’ win was the foul disparity between the two halves. The amount of fouls between the two teams was balanced (20 each), but the occurrence of the fouls was mirror opposites. Iolani was whistled for 13 fouls in the first half while Maryknoll committed the same amount in the second half. 

“That was big,” Iolani’s Zach Buscher said on the foul disparity between the two halves. Buscher led the team in free throw attempts, all six of them coming in the fourth quarter. 

“I think we played more of our game in the second half,” added Shimamoto. “I think we were settling (for jump shots) a little bit in the first half – obviously we fouled too much in the first half. We got back to playing our game in the second half and the result was the (end) result.” 

Maryknoll was able to take a 20-16, halftime lead thanks to 11 first half points by Kaleb Gilmore. Most of Gilmore’s first half points came from the charity stripe, having gone 8-for-11 at the line before the break. Iolani also committed eight of their 13 total turnovers in the first half.

“We came out sloppy in the first half, kind of tired,” said Phillip.

Phillip atoned for the Raiders’ miscues to start the second half, going on a personal 6-0 run to give Iolani their first lead of the game at the 5:33 mark. Gilmore responded with a crossover step-back 3-pointer to retake lead. Maryknoll’s Josh Burnett got a breakaway steal to put the Spartans up by three, but Buscher answered right back with a corner triple of his own. 

The rest of the quarter turned into a grinder as the score remained at 25-all to end the third. However, a key turning point occurred in the waning seconds of the third quarter that swung the odds in Iolani’s favor heading into the final period of regulation.

In order to keep the game close, Iolani held for the final shot in the last possession of the third quarter. The plan nearly resulted in a turnover, but Burnett got whistled for his fourth foul trying to deflect the ball away from Buscher. 

“(That) hurt us a lot,” Grant said on Burnett receiving his fourth foul. “Josh has the tendency when things aren’t going his way to do some extra stuff because he’s so talented and athletic, that he tries to do something on his own to help his team out.

“That was a big turning point when Josh had his fourth foul because now we’re scrambling and putting guys in all different kinds of position.”

Not only did this keep the Spartans’ leading scorer on the bench for most of the fourth quarter (Burnett averaged 20.1 points per league game prior to the contest), but it also allowed the Raiders to put more pressure on Gilmore.  The end result was a dismal 1-for-3 shooting performance for Gilmore in the fourth quarter. 

“(Iolani) did a really good job defending us. They changed things up,” said Grant. “Late in the game they started doubling Kaleb to get the ball out of his hands.” 

In spite of this, Maryknoll would not go down quietly. Phillip connected on an off balanced jumper for the first points of the fourth quarter, but Maryknoll’s Sean Ogata responded with a tough shot of his own, a fadeaway sky hook. The two teams traded blows to a 29-all deadlock with 4:09 remaining in regulation. 

The score remained tied until Iolani reserve Robert Mann took over to give the Raiders the lead for good. After a huge block at the rim, Mann tipped in an offensive rebound to make the score 29-27 just before the two minute mark. He later was the recipient of an Erik Yamada no-look bounce pass to push the Raider lead to four.

“He played with passion, that was the biggest thing,” Shimamoto said on Mann. “He’s been playing solid for us over the last couple of weeks when we’ve been making this run (in league play). Today he stepped up on the offensive end.” 

The 6-foot-1 sophomore did more than give Iolani some scoring; he swung the game in their favor and never gave it back. Mann’s inspired play energized the Raider faithful in attendance, making Maryknoll’s home-court advantage unnoticeable. 

“This game he just attacked the boards like crazy. Got a big put back tip, got a big block, and was there where he needed to be on the backdoor finish,” said Shimamoto. “(Just) unbelievable. Great job by him.” 

Burnett was able to convert on a three-point play with 1:21 left to enable the Spartans to play the foul game on Iolani late in the game. Buscher was happy to oblige, knocking down two at the line to push the lead back to three with 1:10 remaining. 

Gilmore and Burnett could not connect on back-to-back 3-point attempts and it appeared the Raiders would hold on for the victory. This almost held true, but to the delight of the home crowd, Maryknoll was gifted with a foul on Burnett’s 3-point attempt with 10.2 seconds remaining in the game.

Down 36-32 with three free throw attempts on tap, Burnett had a chance to make things interesting.  But with the pressure looming and the Raider faithful echoing through the stands, Burnett missed all three of his attempts at the line. He came back to hit a deep triple with 1.3 remaining, but by then it was already too late and the Raiders held on, 37-35. 

“We just stuck together as one team, like (our motto) says,” said Phillip. “We just stuck it out and executed (down the stretch). We stayed focused. We didn’t let the crowd or anything bother us and we just finished this game.”

The two teams will meet in their fourth meeting of the season for the ILH’s overall championship. Maryknoll, the 2013 ILH champion, will be looking for their ninth league title in school history. Iolani are looking for their first ILH title since 2011.

Both teams have already clinched the two ILH spots in the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball Championships. The winner of Saturday’s meeting will receive the league’s seeded berth and first round bye in the 12-team state tournament.

“It’s going to be tough. It's a war out there," said Buscher.