Campbell's Lamart Dudley soars for a shot attempt against Farrington. Steve Erler | Special to SL

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Thu, Feb 26, 2015 @ McKinley

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Campbell

51

Farrington

45

Final	1	2	3	4
Campbell (11-2, 19-8)	14	11	11	15	51
Farrington (7-4, 22-10)	6	20	8	11	45

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

R. Mamiya 16 pts  1 3pm  5/8 FTs

M. Merchant 22 pts  4 3pm  2/3 FTs

B. Tatupu-Leopoldo 6 tot  1 off  5 def

L. Dudley 19 tot  4 off  6 def

J. Smith 4 ast

J. Bantolina 4 ast

No. 10 Campbell took down No. 2 and second-seeded Farrington, 51-45 in the quarterfinals of the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Basketball State Championships on Thursday.

The Sabers advance to the semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center and will play No. 4 Iolani. Both teams played each other last season in the semifinals with the Raiders prevailing, 56-33.

The Govs beat the Sabers in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Playoffs, 60-55 in overtime on Feb. 14.

Michael Merchant lit it up early and sank three 3-poiners to score 11 of the team's 14 points in the first quarter. He finished with 22 points and shot 4 of 8 from the 3-point line and had four steals.

"Coach told us to play defense first and it will lead to offense. Those steals turned into offense for me and coach told me to shoot with confidence," said Merchant.

"Before the game he was in a slump. I told them to let the game come to you. We didn't expect him to bang them out like that," said Tau, on Merchant.

Merchant hit another 3-pointer to put the Sabers up, 19-11. Farrington came back on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 21 after Jake Smith hit the second free throw. The Govs took the lead for the first time after Keola Kealoha's layup. Ranan Mamiya and Bryce Tatupu-Leopoldo combined for 15 of the team's 20 quarter points. David Marrero scored Campbell's last four points as the Sabers trailed 26-25 at halftime.

The 6-foot-7 Marrero blocked three shots and grabbed 12 rebounds. His presence in the middle helped the Sabers' defense alter shots. Campbell grabbed 30 rebounds for the game.

"We put our hands up and communicated. For the post players, we had to go after every board," said Lamart Dudley.

"Having him on the court to the end was a big help," said Tau, on Marrero.

Farrington scored six of their eight points from the free throw line in the third quarter. The Govs took a 32-29 lead after Mamiya's free throw. Merchant scored the next four points and Campbell took back the lead after Jomar Jett Gapusan made a 3-pointer to make it 36-34.

The Govs shot 1 of 11 (9.1 percent) from the 3-point line, 17 of 46 (37 percent) from the field for the game. The Sabers shot 18 of 42 (42.9 percent) from the field.

Dudley, who was hampered with foul trouble throughout the game, came through offensively to score all 10 of his points in the fourth and grabbed 10 rebounds.

"We had our team calm down and do what we had to do and handled our business. We played this team before and we were up, but lost touch and we got back up. This game was very important," said Dudley.

"I wanted him the game helping us out and we needed him in there. I told him to watch his fouls and play big," said Tau.

Merchant's drive made it 45-41 with 4:00 remaining. Campbell held a four-point lead throughout the fourth and played keep away to run time off the clock. Farrington trailed by six after Tatupu-Leopoldo's basket with 12.2 seconds remaining. Merchant and Dudley made the final four free throws to give the Sabers a 51-45 lead. Smith and Mamiya could not connect from the 3-point line as Campbell held on for the win.

"Coach told us to settle down and play at our pace," said Merchant.

"I kept reminding them about the last game. We cannot repeat the same mistakes like last game," said Tau. "We have to take control of the ball and take higher percentage shots and work the ball, we wanted to control the tempo and take good shots."

Mamiya led Farrington with 16 points, Smith added 14 and Tatupu-Leopoldo had 10. The Govs will play No. 6 Lahainaluna at the Stan Sheriff Center at 3 p.m.