Lam, Punahou give Milton all it can handle to close out Classic opening round

Brian Bautista | SL

Milton got all it could have wanted and then some from Punahou in the final game of the opening round of the Iolani Prep Classic, but eked out a 68-61 win to advance.

Seth Fitzgerald had a team-high 17 points, one of players who hit double figures for the Eagles. Milton's starting five accounted for 63 of its 68 points in the game.

Punahou hung step for step with Milton the entire way, led by the sharpshooting Tucker Lam, who hit five three pointers en route to a game-high 20 points. Dillon Kellner and Ayndra Uperesa-Thomas each chipped in 10 points and Kekai Burnett had 9 for the Buffanblu, who put 12 players on the court compared to just seven for the Eagles.

The Buffanblu tied the score at 52-all early in the fourth quarter on a Kellner drive along the left baseline, but the Eagles found a way to hold on down the stretch, outpointing Punahou 16-9 over the last 4 minutes and change.

Lam right side corner three with 1:08 left cut the margin to 64-58, but the Buffanblu could get no closer.

The contest featured two buzzer beaters, one at the end of the first half on a 40-foot heave by Milton's Josh Dixon, and the other a deep three from the left wing by Punahou's Jon Yoshimoto that cut the margin to single digits heading into the final quarter of play.