Maryknoll's Joshua Burnett gets high above the rim against Iolani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Purchase image 1 of 3

Iolani's Zachary Buscher attempts to get a shot attempt off a Maryknoll's Tamamoko Green defends. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Purchase image 2 of 3

Maryknoll's Danny Danbara puts up a running shot against Iolani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Purchase image 3 of 3

Wed, Feb 13, 2013 @ Maryknoll

---

Iolani

48

Maryknoll

59

Final	1	2	3	4
Iolani (6-6, 13-9)	10	19	6	13	48
Maryknoll (11-1, 25-3)	14	14	13	18	59

D. Danbara 15 pts  2 3pm  5/6 FTs

Z. Buscher 18 pts  2 3pm  5/5 FTs

Maryknoll completed the season sweep of 'Iolani with a 59-48 win and will take on Punahou in the ILH Division I single-elimination tournament final.

The Spartans ended 'Iolani's three-game winning streak and their season.

Unlike the previous matchup where Maryknoll won 15-13, this game definitely had more scoring. Maryknoll was ready if 'Iolani decided to stall the ball on offense.

"We were prepared for that and they did it once or twice tonight," said Maryknoll head coach Kelly Grant.

Maryknoll's point guard Danny Danbara led the Spartans with 15 points and hit two 3-pointers.

"I wanted to come out strong because (Josh) Burnett, our main scorer, couldn't play in the beginning and I knew someone needed to step up to get the momentum going," said Danbara.

He also stood out on the court because he wore bright green customized Kevin Durant shoes.

"Actually it was one of the team manager's shoes. I was going to play in my Kobe's, but I saw them and wanted to try them on so I decided to rock them for tonight's game. However I will probably wear them for future games," said Danbara.

To open the quarter, both teams traded 3 point shots as Tobias Powell hit one for Maryknoll and Zach Buscher made one for 'Iolani. Maryknoll went up 8-3 after a steal and layup from Tobias Powell. 'Iolani clawed back to make it 11-10. Maryknoll's Danny Danbara hit two 3 pointers this quarter, one of them beat the buzzer to put the Spartans up, 14-10.

Maryknoll would go up 5 in the second quarter after Hyrum Harris made a layup as he was fouled. However, the Raiders fought back and took the lead 22-20 after a three pointer from Zach Buscher. He led the Raiders in scoring and scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half. 'Iolani took a 1-point lead going into halftime, 29-28 as Buscher dribbled down the clock and found an open Ikaika Phillip before the buzzer sounded.

"They are very disciplined," Grant said of the Raiders. "The shots they took were good looks. From reading the newspaper it seemed like they were hitting a lot of shots (against Saint Louis) so that was my biggest concern going into the game. I told my team these guys will be ready to play us so we had to make some adjustments. We played man and put in smaller players in and switched on defense. Finally in the second half we went with Burnett at the top and it definitely slowed them down," said Grant.

In the third quarter, Maryknoll's Josh Burnett checked in at about 6:18. He did not play in the first half due to "disciplinary reasons" according to Coach Grant. However, his presence on the court made an immediate impact. He got the crowd and his teammates on their feet with two fastbreak dunks.

"We came out fighting and we a great half. Unfortunately Maryknoll is a really good team and I know Josh Burnett did not play in the first half. Him coming out in the second half made a big difference on both ends because he was really disruptive on the top of their zone and he gives them another scoring option. He might have been the difference tonight," said 'Iolani head coach Dean Shimamoto.

"When he (Burnett) plays on top on our 3-2 defense, he's so long at 6'4 he cuts off a lot of angles of the passers and it gives our defense a lot of confidence because the angles are not where the passes are supposed to go and he is able to tip and deflect balls," said Coach Grant.

In the fourth quarter, the Raiders had good looks, but the open shots that fell for 'Iolani in the first half did not fall for them this time. They went scoreless for 4 minutes and 22 seconds, until Buscher hit two free throws. The Spartans built a double-digit lead and converted free throws. Maryknoll's Kaleb Gilmore made 7-of-8 free throws in this quarter, and finished 8-of-10 from the line.

This is the second consecutive season 'Iolani failed to reach the State Tournament. Despite the loss, Coach Shimamoto said, "We scratched and clawed all the way until the end and you saw that tonight. All that you can ask for going into the end of the season was that we were peaking. Unfortunately our peak wasn't as high as Maryknoll's. But we tell them you walk on the court as a team and walk off the court as a team. I'm proud of my guys and I love them."

Maryknoll and Punahou square off on Friday and both teams split the regular season series 1-1.

"It's going to be tough. We have been preparing in practice all week for all the teams. We contribute at least 15-20 minutes to preparing for Punahou so we should be ready," said Coach Grant.

"This means a lot to our team because Maryknoll hasn't been this far, so coach told us to play like it's your last game because 'Iolani is really good," said Danbara.