Punahou's Zayne Chong tries to get around Iolani's Kawika Lee in an ILH playoff game. Pete Caldwell | SL

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Tue, Feb 7, 2017 @ Punahou

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Iolani

52

Punahou

59

Final	1	2	3	4
Iolani (11-4, 22-11)	10	12	16	14	52
Punahou (11-3, 26-6)	14	16	15	14	59

C. Kobayashi 18 pts  6 3pm

H. Hogland 19 pts

There would be no rally this time around for Iolani.

No. 3 Punahou rained 10 3-pointers on No. 4 Iolani in a 59-52 victory to capture the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I regular-season boys' basketball championship Tuesday night at the Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Chris Kobayashi led the barrage with six 3-pointers for his team-high 18 points to help the Buffanblu (9-2) secure a state tournament berth. Iolani's Hugh Hogland led all scorers with 19 points.

"We're glad we punched our ticket," Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. "I'm sure we'll see Iolani again. Both those guys and Maryknoll are great teams. It's ashamed one of us three aren't going to be in it. Maybe we need to do something like they do in football (have an open tournament)."

The Raiders (9-3), playing their third game in four nights, is the regular-season runner-up. They are at least assured of a second chance to claim the league's second state berth should they not reach the second-round finals.

"It feels great," Kobayashi said of the state berth. "We really worked hard for this. I'm glad (my teammates) followed me a little bit, being the captain and allowing me to be a leader. But we have ILH tournament now. We can't take any days off."

Although Iolani might have been overtaxed, Punahou had its own issue with inactivity because of its carnival over the weekend. The Buffanblu's previous game was Jan. 31.

"We really didn't have six days rest because we had the carnival," Matsuda said. "We didn't practice for four, five days. All these kids were on their feet Friday, Saturday. We had practice Sunday, Monday. That's the culture of Punahou. We really believe in the carnival. We kind of got lucky with the draw because if we had to play Monday, we would've been in trouble."

Iolani might have been a tad slow. First there was post Duke Clemens beating defenders on back-door plays for most of his 10 points, including eight in the second period that opened the Buffanblu lead to 30-22 at the half. Second was defending the Punahou 3s.

"It didn't help," Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto said of playing three games in four nights. "Mentally, we seemed a little bit slow and it helped they were playing at home, too. They shot incredibly well. Not that they can't do that, but I think they shoot it better here (at Hemmeter)…On the same note, we know they can do that so we have to do a better job of covering them and not letting them do what they like to do."

For Iolani, who rallied from halftime deficits against Maryknoll on Saturday in the regular-season finale and again on Monday in a playoff, there would be no second-half comeback. Not against Punahou this particular night.

First, there was no stopping the Buffanblu from 3-point range. Cole Mausolf, Zayne Chang, Hunter Hosoda and Kaulana Makaula each chipped in with a trey.

Iolani did not help itself either with 7-of-14 shooting from the free-throw line. The Raiders missed on two three-point plays and two front ends of bonus situations.

"We haven't shot free throws well this season, but this didn't help either," Shimamoto said.

 Neither did the 3s.

"The crowd tonight really go me going," Kobayashi said. "We love playing for these fans…It's a nice boost. My teammates really found me second half."

Iolani's Justin Genovia scored all of his 13 points in the second half, including two off of steals.

The second-round quarterfinals begin Wednesday with Saint Louis playing Maryknoll and Kamehameha taking on Mid-Pacific Institute. Punahou and Iolani draw first-round byes and will play in Thursday's semifinals. The championship is set for Friday.

Still at stake is the league's seeded berth. Punahou has a foot in the door because the worst it will be second in the ILH. The other teams must try to win the second-round to meet Punahou for the overall title and seeded berth. The league's second-place team will have another challenge is that it will play Monday because of the state's regional first round.