Kamehameha's Preston Ponteras brings the ball up the floor on a fast break. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Fri, Nov 23, 2018 @ McKinley

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Kamehameha

55

Kalani

47

Final	1	2	3	4
Kamehameha (3-10, 14-14)	13	18	9	15	55
Kalani (8-6, 15-9)	12	8	14	13	47

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

I. Lee 11 pts  1 3pm  2/4 FTs

P. Ponteras 20 pts  4 3pm  4/6 FTs

B. Chung 7 tot  2 off  5 def

K. Kamakawiwoole 7 tot  3 off  4 def

I. Lee 3 ast

C. Togiai 3 ast

KAKAAKO — Kamehameha-Kapalama drained nine 3's and pulled away late in the fourth quarter to sink Kalani, 55-47 in the Hawaii Self Storage Black and Gold Classic at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium Friday.

"We've been together for about two weeks and the boys are figuring out the expectations on and off the court. Our effort today showed that. We had tough times, but we're trying to talk about staying together as a team," first-year Kamehameha coach Larry Park said.

Junior guard Preston Ponteras (20 points, four rebounds, four steals) and sophomore Paliku Kamaka (14 points) combined to make eight of the team's nine 3-pointers for the game.

"Ball movement was big. It was a team thing. It wasn't just me," Ponteras said.

"I've seen them grow up and bought in. I've coached at Kamehameha for a number of years so I've seen them grow up in intermediate and JV," Park said of Ponteras and Kamaka.

Christmas Togiai, a starter from last year's squad finished with six points, but filled up the stat sheet with seven boards, six assists and four steals.

The Falcons won the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II title in back-to-back seasons and moved up to Division I for the 2018-2019 season.

Isaiah Lee scored nine of his 11 in the second half and Brandon Chung also added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Falcons. Micah Kouchi made two 3's to finish with nine points off the bench.

The Warriors started the game on an 8-0 run before the Falcons answered with a 7-0 run of their own. Kalani's only lead of the game was in the first quarter, before Kamehameha led, 13-12 after the first quarter.

"That's what we want on offense. We want to space the floor. To start the game, we had our perimeter guy drive and found Lokahi (Pauole) in the post for the two layups to start. We got penetration and kick outs. That's what we were expecting," Park said.

Kamehameha pulled away with Ponteras draining a 3 to put the Warriors up, 25-16 to force a Kalani timeout. Togiai had a steal and layup and Kamaka made his second 3-pointer toward the end of the first half as the Warriors led, 31-20 at intermission.

"Offense was good today, that's what we practiced. That's what we look to build off of this weekend," Ponteras said.

The Warriors took a 37-23 lead after Skyler Ramos' drive, but Kalani chipped away to cut the deficit to 10 and then to six after Ryan Higashionna's steal and layup and Kamehameha called time with 2:12 left in the third. Ponteras and Isaiah Lee traded 3-pointers as the Warriors led, 40-34 heading into the fourth.

"We're young, they tend to take breaks during the game. We want them to get consistent on the effort level," Kalani coach Everett Frye said.

A five-point stretch by Ponteras put Kamehameha up nine, 45-36 but Kalani went on a 7-0 run aided by converting Warrior turnovers into transition points. Jake Shibuya made 1 of 2 free throws to bring the Falcons within two, 45-43 but Kalani could get no closer as the Warriors hit their shots to close the game on a 10-4 run.

"This is good practice for the regular season in January. We need to build off of that and we cannot slack on defense," Ponteras said.

"Hopefully this builds confidence in each other. I told them in the timeout that basketball is a game of runs. They made their run and we have to be tough on 'D' to make our run. Luckily we did enough. We got enough stops to win," Park said.

Kamehameha outrebounded Kalani, 29 to 17. The Warriors had 14 offensive rebounds to the Falcons' five that gave them extra opportunities at the basket.

"They are a good team, athletic, and beat us to a 50-50 ball," Frye said.

The Falcons conclude the Classic with University Lab on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 11:30 am and Campbell on Monday, Nov. 26 at 4:30 pm.

The Warriors play Kaimuki on Nov. 24 at 1 pm and Kapolei on Nov. 26 at 6 pm to wrap up their games at McKinley.