Iolani players celebrate after winning the Division I title with a 45-40 win over Punahou. Evan Asato | SL

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Sat, Feb 20, 2016 @ Stan Sheriff

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Punahou

40

Iolani

45

Final	1	2	3	4
Punahou (9-6, 27-9)	8	10	11	11	40
Iolani (9-5, 19-9)	8	16	13	8	45

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

H. Hogland 15 pts  1/4 FTs

A. Troske 8 pts  0/0 FTs

H. Hogland 10 tot  2 off  8 def

A. Troske 9 tot  4 off  5 def

N. Bumanglag 1 ast

C. Arceneaux 1 ast

MANOA — At the end of it all, there can only be "One Team."

Iolani withstood a late Punahou charge to capture its second state title in three years, 45-40 in the title game of the OC16/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Basketball State Championships Saturday night. 

Junior 6-foot-9 center Hugh Hogland was a stalwart in the paint and racked up 15 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks to help the Raiders win their 11th state championship before a crowd of 3,357 at the Stan Sheriff Center in the fifth meeting between the two teams this season. 

"It's just a relief right now," said Hogland, who shot 7-for-8 from the field and was selected as the tourney's Most Outstanding Player. "I'm so happy for the seniors. To send those guys off right, it's a good feeling."

Senior Robby Mann also earned all-tournament honors and finished with 14 points while on the court for a game-high 30 minutes. Zach Gelacio had the team's only made 3-pointer and chipped in seven points, and Nick Kennedy corralled eight rebounds, four on the offensive glass, to aid the Raiders in the win. 

Iolani (19-9), the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion and top-seeded team in the tournament, was playing in its third straight title game while the Buffanblu (27-9) were in their first state final since 2012. The Raiders' experience in big games was evident as they weathered every wave that Punahou's 14-man rotation threw at them.

Even when the Buffanblu whittled an eight-point fourth quarter deficit down to two points with 4:16 left in regulation and a single point with less than two minutes to go in the game, Iolani still stood tall. 

After Hogland split a pair at the line to give Iolani a 42-40 lead with less than 30 seconds remaining on the game clock, the Raiders contained two shot attempts on Punahou's next possession: a driving shot by Jared Lum and a straightaway triple from Zayne Chong. The Buffanblu had to foul Mann with six seconds left in the game and Iolani was able to seal the deal at the line.

"Having that experience definitely helped," said Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto. "Having gone through it before…these guys were backups on the championship team in 2014. Then they played and felt disappointment in 2015. They really wanted it and knew what it took."

The game played out almost exactly how it did in Iolani's three wins over Punahou during league play. The Raiders were able to attack the basket and draw more fouls, 19 to 9, and closed out on Punahou's shooters on the perimeter. The Buffanblu finished the night going 15-for-52 from the field (28.8 percent) and 4 of 18 from beyond the arc (22.2 percent). 

"It was kind of the same grind it out game," said Punahou coach Darren Matsuda. "They're a really good defensive team…we're a really good defensive team, but they kind of have a 6-foot-9 advantage (Hogland) on us." 

The one Punahou guy that had success in the paint against the Raiders was Akahi Troske, who made his first three shots and had six points through an even 8-all first quarter.

However, the senior center picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter and did not check in until the 1:17 mark of the third stanza. During this span the Raiders were able to build a 37-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter as Punahou turned to freshman bigs Falcon Kaumatule, Duke Clemens and Maninoa Tufono as they were without starting center Jack-Eli Tufono (ACL).

"I think they handled the ball better and we made some costly turnovers that hurt us," said Matsuda. "Akahi got in foul trouble and they kind of exploited that. He's a veteran and our young guys did our best, but he's pretty savvy."

Troske and Lum each had eight points to lead the Buffanblu. Chris Kobayashi added seven points and Chong finished with six before fouling out.