Iolani center Hugh Hogland blocks a shot attempt by Punahou's Maninoa Tufono. Hogland had five total blocks in the contest. John Lujan | SL

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Fri, Feb 10, 2017 @ Punahou

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Iolani

51

Punahou

46

Final	1	2	3	4
Iolani (11-4, 22-11)	12	14	13	12	51
Punahou (11-3, 26-6)	11	8	9	18	46

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

Z. Chong 11 pts  2 3pm  3/6 FTs

H. Hogland 18 pts  4/9 FTs

K. Makaula 5 tot  1 off  4 def

H. Hogland 12 tot  2 off  10 def

K. Makaula 2 ast

H. Hogland 2 ast

MAKIKI — The chase for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I crown has turned into a best of five series.

Iolani built a sizable lead through three quarters and Hugh Hogland poured in 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks to defeat Punahou, 51-46, in the league's single-elimination tournament final at Hemmeter Fieldhouse Friday night.

The Buffanblu, who clinched the regular season title and state berth in a 59-52 playoff win over the Raiders on Tuesday, would have captured the ILH's overall championship by winning the tournament, but will now travel to Iolani Saturday to play for the league's overall championship and seeded berth in the fifth meeting between the two teams this season.

Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto said his team was fired up for Friday's contest.

"I think we came out motivated tonight. It was a painful loss the last time (we played Punahou). These guys wanted to show what they got."

Punahou coach Darren Matsuda felt the same as well.

"In the last game (against Iolani), we played like we had nothing to lose. We just played hard and didn't worry about the outcome. Tonight I think they (Iolani) did it."

Tuesday's game saw the Buffanblu knock down 10 triples to beat Iolani. Punahou still got six treys on Friday, but had no answer for the Raiders defensively.

Iolani established its presence in the paint early and often, and was able to convert on over 50 percent of its attempts from the field (19 of 36 shooting).

The Raiders' game plan was evident from the start as they went to 6-foot-9 Hogland for the first two buckets of the game.

"I think he's the best big man in the state, it'll be silly of us not to try and get him touches," Shimamoto said on Hogland. "That's kind of been our thing all year long. That's why we try to give him the ball."

With Hogland commanding double teams in the post early on, driving lanes opened up for Justin Genovia, who added 12 points. Hogland's younger brother Cole also took advantage of a handful of extra passes and chipped in seven points.

"We try to take whatever is there, and today some of the inside options were there," said Shimamoto. 

While the Raiders converted on most of their opportunities around the basket, the Buffanblu were unable to sustain their strong shooting streak from three nights ago.

"We missed a lot of shots that we normally make, we missed a lot of layups and we missed a lot of free throws," said Matsuda, whose team went 6-for-16 at the charity stripe. "To win a game against a really, really good team like this, you have to be able to make those."

The difference in offensive efficiency helped grow Iolani's one-point first quarter lead into a 11-point advantage after three quarters.

"I think it was just a sense of urgency that we had," said Hogland, the reigning All-Hawaii Division I Player of the Year. "That was the thing that was preached (to us) because I think we came out a little flat against Punahou on Tuesday."

Still, the Buffanblu were not going to go down quietly on their home court.

Punahou got post Duke Clemens going early in the fourth quarter for two quick buckets to cut Iolani's lead down to single digits, 40-32. Then the Buffanblu got a break after Genovia, who pestered Punahou with three steals, picked up two hand check fouls at half court within seconds apart from each other, the second of which gave Genovia his fourth foul at the 6:48 mark of the period.

Iolani's lead hovered between six and eight points up until Punahou's Kaulana Makaula scored two straight baskets to cut the Raiders' lead to 44-40, which forced an Iolani timeout with 3:02 left in regulation.

A bad pass on the ensuing inbounds play resulted in a triple by Punahou's Zayne Chong, but the Raiders' Bailey Alabanza was able to answer with a trey of his own to put Iolani back ahead by four, 47-43.

Alabanza, who last hit a 3-pointer against Kamehameha on Feb. 1, also hit on a deep ball in the third quarter to give Iolani its largest lead of the night, 36-23.

"Bailey hits a couple of big 3s today and he needs it, it's a big confidence booster for him," Hogland said on Alabanza.

Punahou responded on a jumper by Chris Kobayashi, but never got any closer as Iolani held on for the win.

"(Iolani) played great. I thought they played really well and they took it to us," said Matsuda. "I thought we still had a chance. We fought, which I'm proud of the guys for, but we have to do a better job playing with confidence and just playing."

Chong and Kobayashi had 11 and 10 points respectively to lead the Buffanblu in the loss.

Saturday's game between the two teams is slated for a 6 p.m. tipoff.