Kahuku's Hyrum Harris drives to the basket against Moanalua. Harris notched 8 points and 7 rebounds in the win over Na Menehune. Peter Caldwell | SL

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022515_1305_HHSAA1_093.JPG - Peter Caldwell | SL

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SALT LAKE—Kahuku rallied in the fourth quarter to upend Moanalua, 49-48 in the opening round of the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Basketball State Championships at Moanalua High School.

The Red Raiders advance to play fourth-seeded Konawaena at 5 p.m. Moanalua will play Maui at 3 p.m.

"I'm doing my scouting report on the bus ride home. They have good coaches and those kids play year-round over there and we have to be ready for another battle," said Kahuku coach Alan Akina.

Both teams play in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East and Kahuku won on Jan. 21, 56-44. Due to seeding, Kahuku was designated the home team while Moanalua was the visitors.

"We knew it would be tough coming in here to play because this is their home gym and although we were the higher seed, we were like the visiting team," said Akina. "I told them to be ready because this is their home gym, their home crowd. They were ready for us and this is a good test for us."

Keanu Akina hit three of his four 3-pointers in the third quarter to finish with a team-high 14 points. Samuta Avea added 10 points and went 2 of 4 from the 3-point line. The Red Raiders shot 6 of 18 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc for the game and went 11 of 24 (45.8 percent) from the free throw line.

Akina made 1 of 2 free throws to make it, 48-42 with under 20 seconds remaining. Moanalua pulled within three, 48-45 after James Wilkins nailed a 3-pointer with 12.0 seconds remaining. Akina was fouled with 11.5 seconds remaining, he made the first but missed the second to make it 49-45. Karson Cruz made a 3-pointer, but since Moanalua didn't have any timeouts, the clock ran out.

"They got some good players and hit some big shots and hitting 3's, but our defense stepped up," said Akina. "They got better and it was a great first opening round of the state tournament. It's like March Madness and this is what it's all about."

Moanalua took a 39-32 lead going into the fourth, but struggled to connect from the field. Kahuku went on a 9-0 run to start the fourth and reclaimed the lead, 41-39. Wilkins hit a jumper at 3:32 to tie the game at 41. Two turnovers by the Na Menehune allowed the Red Raiders to start pulling away. 

The Red Raiders overcame a big performance from Kyrie McRaven who scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. He scored 10 of his 15 first half points in the second quarter as Moanalua took a 23-18 lead at halftime. Wilkins and Cruz added 12 each. The Na Menehune capitalized on Kahuku's offensive struggles to outscore the Red Raiders, 15-5 in the second quarter.