Kalaheo's Kekai Smith puts up a shot through a tough Farrington defense. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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KAILUA - Farrington, fifth in the ScoringLive/OC 16 Division I Power Rankings, fell from the unbeaten ranks in a 58-54 loss to host Kalaheo at the Pete Smith Court.

Kekai Smith and Kupa'a Harrison combined for 37 points to help pull the Mustangs (5-1) into a three-way tie for first with Farrington (5-1) and Moanalua (5-1) in the competitive O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red East. The win was crucial for Kalaheo because it handed the Govs and Na Menehune their only losses; that will aid the Mustangs as far as tie-breakers.

Smith, a sophomore, led with 19, including two 3-pointers, and Harrison added 18 with a team-leading eight rebounds. Harrison also had four blocks and three steals.

The Mustangs led by 10 at the half and opened their lead to as many as 13 points with 4:22 in the third quarter. But Governors used an 8-0 run to chip away at their deficit and pulled to within 40-35 entering the fourth quarter.

The Governors made it a one-possession game with 1:05 left in the game when Isaiah Smith made both free throws to cut Kalaheo's lead to 56-54. But freshman Zach Marrotte made both free throws in the double bonus with 14 seconds left to seal the win for the Mustangs before loud Kalaheo crowd of about 300.

Smith comes from strong bloodlines in the sport. His uncle is Kalaheo's coach Alika Smith, a three-time all-state player at Kalaheo and an all-Western Athletic Conference selection while at the University of Hawai'i. His father, Josh Smith, also was an all-state player at Kalaheo before Alika. And, of course, his late grandfather, Pete Smith, was the legendary Kalaheo coach who led the school to three state titles. And he was an all-state player at Kailua High.

"I'd like him to say he took after his uncle, but I learned everything from my older brother, so we're going to have to give him (Josh) the credit with that," Alika Smith said with a laugh.

The younger Smith, a sophomore, is certainly showing glimpses of his father and uncle at the same age, showing poise on a team that is young.

"He's come such a long way from a kid at a young game," Alika Smith said. "At this point, you can slowly see him shaping into someone who wants to be aggressive out there and take and make the big shots and that's what he's been doing along with Kupa'a the last two weeks. So it's nice to see."

Harrison helped the Mustangs open their lead in the fourth with seven points. But he fouled out with 1:50 left with Kalaheo leading 55-49. Though the Govs pulled to within two, the Mustangs were able to hold of the late charge. But the coach said the other players picked up the slack.

"It was scary at a certain extent," Alika Smith said of losing Harrison at that juncture. "But last week, we played against Kailua with him in foul trouble and (he) fouled out - I think he played three minutes in the second half - so those same guys stepped up then tonight. We had to ask a freshman (Marotte) to make two free throws to make it a two-possession game with 14 seconds left and he did just that."

For the Governors, they couldn't get into their game until the second half and spent most of the game chasing.

"We just weren't playing our game, real simple," Silva said. "We played our game toward the second half all right, but we have to play. We can't wait for the referee to make the right call. I'm not saying he made some wrong calls tonight, but you know what? We have to come out and play from the beginning."

The Governors were shorthanded, losing 6-foot-3 guard Jacob McEnroe, 6-5 post Mason Semisi and 6-2 Manly Williams. They were invited to play in the Polynesian All American Bowl, which is Saturday in Tustin, Calif.

"If affect us any time we don't have anybody here," Silva said. "But we didn't play well in the first half. We played really poor in the first half. But you know, we'll come back."

Farrington had three players score in double figures: Van Hugo (16), Tua Unutoa (12) and isaiah Visoria (11). Unutoa had nine rebounds, while Isaiah Smith and Visoria had four steals each.