No. 1 Punahou downs No. 6 Kalaheo, 52-40

Punahou's Danny Andrew's puts up a shot as Kalaheo's Kupa'a Harrison. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Punahou, ranked No. 1 in the inaugural ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, continues to dominate in the preseason, moving on to 10-0 in the preseason with their win over the No. 6 Kalaheo, 52-40. This game was a rematch of the semifinal round in the 2013 Hawaiian Airlines Boys Basketball Championships.

“We just wanted to come out here and play our best,” said Punahou’s Daniel Andrews, who scored a game-high 18 points. “We knew what happened last year and that kind of motivated us, but it was just another game really.”

In addition to his 18 points, Andrews also added seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. He also used his length to defend Kalaheo’s Kupa’a Harrison well, limiting him to 10 points, his lowest output of the year.

Kalaheo, ranked No. 6 in the same power rankings, falls to 12-2 in the preseason, their second loss in three games. In spite of the double-digit win, Punahou coach Darren Matsuda acknowledges that Kalaheo is a strong team.

“I knew this would be a good test for us in the preseason, (they was) 12-1 for a good reason,” Matsuda said on their opponent. “We like up-tempo games and they did a good job at slowing (down) the tempo.”

The Buffanblu also got a great shooting night out of Junior Justin Kam, who scored 15 points with four triples.

“It’s kind of funny because he was the kid last year who didn’t even make the team in the beginning of the year,” Matsuda said on Kam. “Last year was just getting his feet wet, this year it’s his time to really see what he can do. I think he’ll have a really good year this year he can pretty much do it all. We like what he brings to us.”

Leading the way for the Mustangs was Alec Macleod with 14 points and two treys. In addition to Harrison’s 10 points, Kekai Smith rounded up Kalaheo’s top scorers with nine points, all from three-point attempts.

Kalaheo trailed by 16 at the half, but was able to cut it down to a six-point game, prompting Matsuda to call a timeout with 6:17 remaining in regulation. The Buffanblu was able to regroup and go on a 10-2 run to put the game out of reach. The run was capped with a Kam corner trey to give Punahou a 49-39 lead with two minutes left in regulation.

“(Kalaheo) made a nice run out there. They broke the game to six from sixteen, (but) we kept our composure and we squashed the run. I’m proud of my kids for doing that and that’s a growing experience for them,” said Matsuda.

The Buffanblu will face No. 9 Baldwin the following day in the championship round of the Punahou Boys Basketball Invitational. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m. at the Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].