After upsetting top-ranked Punahou to start league play, No. 8 Mid-Pacific will go on the road to take on No. 7 Maryknoll Saturday. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Mid-Pacific put the entire state on alert when it knocked off top-ranked Punahou Wednesday.

The Owls (1-0 league, 8-6 overall) ranked eighth in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Boys Basketball Power Rankings, built an early lead and staved off a late rally to defeat the Buffanblu, 56-54 in both team's Interscholastic League of Honolulu opener at Mills Gymnasium. 

"It was a great win for the Mid-Pacific community," said second-year Mid-Pacific coach Ryan Hirata. "I'm extremely proud of our guys for following the game plan, playing like a team and doing all the things that they were asked to do by the coaching staff. Punahou is such an outstanding team and they are as advertised. Whenever you can come out on top against a team like that you definitely have to be proud of your guys." 

Senior 6-foot-4 forward Justin Daise scored a game-high 26 points to power the Owls in the victory. It was Daise's first game back from sitting out the past four weeks with lingering injuries from playing football during the fall. He also sat out most of his junior campaign due to a knee and foot injury.

"He's a coaches dream," Hirata said on Daise. "He's a leader and his presence alone on the floor and off the court makes our jobs as coaches so much easier. He has a certain charisma about him that really gets his teammates to buy in. For him to be really healthy in the first time in a long time, you can't help but feel happy for him." 

The Owls now turn their attention to seventh-ranked Maryknoll (0-1, 17-3), who dropped a close one to Saint Louis to start league play. Hirata says the stunning win against Punahou doesn't mean his team can slack off against the Spartans. 

"We have to give 100 percent every night,"said Hirata. "With us, we're not that great of a team yet where we can come out every single night and give 80 percent. Every game is a championship game and it's not any different going in against Maryknoll in their home gym. They're a great team and there's a reason why they've won 17 games on the year. To me they are one of, if not, the most talented team in the ILH. They're very dangerous and we have to come out ready to play."

For Maryknoll, Wednesday's loss to the Crusaders was a reminder that every league game will be a tossup. Even though his team came up on the losing end, Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant was pleased with his team's efforts against Saint Louis.

"I thought our team was playing well enough to win," said Grant. "We were up by four points with a couple of minutes left, Saint Louis hit a couple of big shots, we missed some free throws and a couple of layups down the stretch. All in all, I think we played well."

Grant says his team needs to be able to handle the Owls' energy in order to win their upcoming matchup. The Spartans have also picked up the intensity in practice in preparation for Saturday's contest.

"Mid-Pacific is a high intensity team," said Grant. "They really get in your face, they try to out hustle you and outplay you with their ball pressure. That's something I noticed. They really play with high energy and we really have to try and match that." 

The Maryknoll coach added that free throws could be the difference. In their 38-36 loss to Saint Louis, the Spartans shot 4-for-14 from the charity stripe.

"We're emphasizing free throws and we're just hoping that the kids will turn it around as far as making them," said Grant. "We're a little low on our free throw percentages now. They're working hard and we've been doing a lot of free throw games."

The Spartans will rely on point guards Isiah Gelacio and Jordyn-Thomas Perez to push the ball up the floor and limit turnovers. Swingmen Hayato Kamata and Jaylen Cain are Maryknoll's go-to players for scoring and 6-foot-6 Brian Washington is a sentry at the rim. 

"It's going to be a good game to watch," said Grant. "If you're an average fan of basketball, any ILH game you'll watch this year, you'll be pleased with what you see. There's some young teams in the league, but as a whole, it's going to be very competitive and exciting to watch."

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium.