No. 1 Punahou escapes at the buzzer over No. 10 Kahuku, 50-48


ScoringLive staff
December 21, 2017, 8:16am

The Buffanblu celebrates after Cole Arceneaux's game-winning bucket. CJ Caraang | SL

The rematch of last year's Division I state title game lived up to the hype.

Cole Arcenaux's putback jumper at the buzzer helped top-ranked Punahou survive over No. 10 Kahuku with a 50-48 win Wednesday night in the semifinals of the annual Saint Francis Holiday Hoops Classic.

The Red Raiders, the reigning state champion, tied the game at 48 with under 15 seconds to play in the regulation after Marcus Damuni found Ethan Erickson on a baseline cut. The Buffanblu quickly got the ball up the floor before Zayne Chong attempted a push shot with under four seconds. The shot was no good and Kaulana Makaula's putback rimmed out before Arcenaux gathered the ball and put up the game-winning basket.

Punahou moves on to take on host Saint Francis in the final Thursday night at 8 p.m. The game will be streamed on ScoringLive.com.

Makaula led the Buffanblu in the loss with 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Chong added 13 points and Hunter Hosoda had 11 points and two triples off the bench to round out Punahou's leading scorers.

Arcenaux did a little bit of everything for Punahou, chipping in a game-high eight steals to go along with five points, four rebounds and four assists.

Tolu Smith led the Red Raiders in the loss with 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

Punahou led 30-21 at the break, but went without a field goal until 1:24 in the third quarter to keep Kahuku in the contest. The Red Raiders were able to outscore the Buffanblu, 27-20, in their second half rally.