Maryknoll's Kaleb Gilmore brings the ball down the court for a layup against Punahou. Allison Hwang | Special to SL

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Punahou's Nick Velasquez elevates over a pair of Maryknoll defenders. Evan Asato | SL

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Punahou's Nick Velasquez and Kupono Fey battle for a rebound. Evan Asato | SL

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Maryknoll's Danny Danbara puts up a jump shot against Punahou. Allison Hwang | Special to SL

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Punahou sophomore Justin Kam sank 4 three-pointers in against Maryknoll. Allison Hwang | Special to SL

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Maryknoll players and coaches celebrate after winning the 2013 ILH Division I Title. Evan Asato | SL

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Fri, Feb 15, 2013 @ Maryknoll

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Punahou

53

Maryknoll

57

Final	1	2	3	4
Punahou (8-4, 22-8)	14	6	18	15	53
Maryknoll (11-1, 25-3)	11	15	15	16	57

K. Gilmore 22 pts  4 3pm  4/6 FTs

N. Velasquez 15 pts  2 3pm  3/3 FTs

A day off will be the perfect birthday present for Kaleb Gilmore.

The sophomore guard scored a season-high 22 points to lead Maryknoll to its first Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I title in 26 years with a 57-53 win over Punahou Friday night. A capacity crowd of about 600 fans at the Spartans' Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium saw the hosts claim their first ILH title since 1987 and eighth in school history.

"We were ready," said Gilmore, who made four 3-pointers and scored 13 of his points after halftime. "We kind of knew we were going to win it because we came into the game all hyped up. We were tired of losing to Punahou."

With the win, Maryknoll improved to 23-2 on the season and avoided a winner-take-all game against the Buffanblu Saturday. The Spartans were the top-seed in the ILH single-elimination tournament as the regular-season champion, and will be the league's top seed and receive a first-round bye in next week's Hawaiian Airlines/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Championships.

"I'm so happy. It's been a wonderful ride from the first day of practice, until when we went on our retreat, I just knew this was a special bunch," Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said. "Everybody works hard, everybody gets together, it's a great, big family. We have all the pieces - the coaching staff and the players knew it - and we just stepped to the plate and made a good run today."

The Spartans fell behind 4-0 early in the game and trailed, 14-11, after the first quarter, but stormed back to hold a 26-20 halftime advantage. Maryknoll led by as many as nine points with about five minutes left in the game, but Punahou pulled within two twice in the final minute. However, the Spartans answered each time and sealed it with free throws down the stretch.

"It was hard. I would like to say it was easy, but it was really hard," Gilmore said of the game's frantic finish. "They're a good team, they won last year, but it's our turn this time and we came together as a team and pulled through."

Hyrum Harris pitched in 10 points for Maryknoll, which shot 10 of 17 from the free-throw line. It was the third meeting between the teams this season. Maryknoll won the first meeting (70-66) back on Jan. 9 and Punahou won the second-round game (47-41) on Jan. 26.

"We didn't want to play tomorrow," Gilmore said. "Sunday is my birthday, I didn't want to play tomorrow."

Gilmore said the difference in Friday's game was all the little things.

"We just had to box out and get back on defense. They had too many easy points the second time we played," said Gilmore, whose previous high was 21 points in a preseason win over Kaimuki.

Gilmore battled foul trouble late in the game and watched much of the fourth quarter from the bench after picking up his fourth personal foul less than a minute into the period.

"This is the first time that Kaleb has been in foul trouble this year, so it was a little unusual not having him on the floor for the three or four-minute stretch, but we have capable guys on the bench that can help us out, so we just had to make sure that we had that lead when Kaleb got back in the game," Grant said. "Kaleb's a dynamic player, he splits the double-teams going to the basket, it's the kind of stuff that you just cannot teach."

The Spartans took their largest lead of the game on Tobias Schramm's putback with five minutes and 12 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. However, the Buffanblu pulled within four following a pair of Nick Velasquez free throws and following an up-and-under move by Kupono Fey, drew to within a basket at 53-51 with just 42 seconds remaining.

Gilmore drained a pair of free throws to put Maryknoll back ahead by four, but Fey answered with a basket off a feed from Velasquez to make the score 55-53 with 17 seconds left. Joshua Burnett against gave the Spartans a four-point edge with two more free throws and Punahou missed a pair of 3-pointers in their final two possessions.

"It was a great game, both teams fought really hard," Buffanblu coach Darren Matsuda said. "They played really well. I thought we played pretty well. I thought both teams gave it all they got, the ball just didn't bounce our way today, so that's how it goes."

Velasquez scored 15 points, Justin Kam 14 and Fey 13 to pace Punahou. Kam made four of his team's six 3-pointers.

Punahou, which fell to 19-7 on the season, had already clinched the ILH's other state-tournament berth. The Buffanblu won the ILH and state titles last year.

Maryknoll has won its last five games since the loss to Punahou nearly three weeks ago.