Punahou guard Chris Kobayashi dribbles around the horn against Moanalua. He had seven points in the Buffanblu's win. John Lujan | SL

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Wed, Nov 30, 2016 @ Radford

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Punahou

59

Moanalua

33

Final	1	2	3	4
Punahou (11-3, 26-6)	16	24	10	9	59
Moanalua (8-7, 9-17)	9	5	7	12	33

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

R. Dominguez 15 pts  5/11 FTs

M. Tufono 9 pts  1 3pm  4/4 FTs

D. Clark 7 tot  2 off  5 def

D. Whitaker 8 tot  3 off  5 def

D. Clark 1 ast

A. Martinson 1 ast

ALIAMANU — Punahou scored 40 of its 59 points in the first half to wipe out Moanalua, 59-33, on the opening day of the 18th Annual James Alegre Basketball Invitational at Radford's Jim Alegre Gymnasium.

The scoring was somewhat distributed for the night—Maninoa Tufono led the team with nine points and grabbed five boards and Chris Kobayashi added seven points. The Buffanblu played 14 of their 16 players.

"We're doing a good job defensively. That's what we're emphasizing right now—working our press and half court defense," said Punahou coach Darren Matsuda.

Cole Arceneaux, a quick, pesky perimeter defender, is still recovering from a knee injury he suffered during football season.

"He's working hard in rehab. It might happen, we don't know. Right now we're concentrating, and he's concentrating getting better," said Matsuda, on Cole's potential return.

The Na Menehune return forward Saige Pulu, who led the team in scoring last season, but he did not play. RJ Dominguez stepped up to score nine of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter. The Na Menehune suited up 11 players and all got to play.

"We have to come together quickly because it's a short preseason. There was good and bad out of a game like this. We're gaining experience against a really good team, but it's frustrating for the kids because they want to play better on the court. Part of our job after the game is to put it in perspective, point out the good and get better at the bad and move on," said Moanalua coach Byron Mello.

Moanalua led very briefly, but Punahou established control to go up, 14-5 after Chris Kobayashi's 3-point play. The Na Menehune ended the first quarter on a 4-0 run to trail, 16-9.

"I liked how we shared the ball, that's the part. But we have to make decisions better," said Matsuda.

Punahou turned up the pressure with several full court presses and traps. The Buffanblu went on a 5-0 run, before Moanalua called a timeout and pushed it to a 19-5 run to end the quarter. Hunter Hosoda hit a 3-pointer from the left wing before the buzzer sounded to make it, 40-14.

"Punahou is good at what they do. The pressure was a factor. I wish we would've played smarter against their pressure. We did some things that totally shot ourselves in the foot," said Mello.

The Buffanblu outscored the Na Menehune, 24-5. Punahou used its size advantage in the post to outrebound Moanalua, 41 to 28.

"We brought the energy and we were pretty deep. We kept the pressure. The defensive end, we're trying to emphasize finishing plays. The kids did a good job blocking out and we want to attack the glass if the opportunity presents itself," said Matsuda.

Punahou forced at least 19 Moanalua turnovers for the game and committed 11.

The Buffanblu shot 14 of 21 (66.6 percent) from the free throw line, while the Na Menehune shot 10 of 20 (50 percent).

Moanalua plays Hayward (Calif.) on Thursday, Dec. 1 and finishes by playing Saint Louis on Saturday.

Punahou plays Farrington on Friday Dec. 2 and wraps up with Kalaheo on Saturday, Dec. 3.