PUNAHOU BOYS MOVE ON TO SEMIFINALS
HHSAA Boys Basketball D-I State Tournament
Published: 02/22/2008
BY BOB HOGUE
DIGITAL SPORTS HAWAII
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
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Unlikely heroes stepped up for the second-ranked Punahou Buffanblu Thursday night, as the ILH runners-up knocked off OIA champion Mililani, 56-31 in the quarterfinal round of the HHSAA boys basketball state tournament at Radford.
With Kameron Steinhoff and Manti Te'o spending most of their time on the bench in the first half due to foul trouble, it was junior Robbie Toma, sophomore Henry Cassiday, and seldom-used Kainoa Gaddis who made many of the big plays in Punahou's 25 point victory.
"If you had told me we would play so long without Kameron and Manti, and play like this, I would have been surprised," said Punahou head coach Dan Hale afterwards. "It was definitely a team effort."
Toma came out on fire to get the Buffanblu off to a great start. The junior guard from Kahuku nailed two quick three-pointers, and had nine of Punahou's first 11 points, as he helped his teammates jump out to an early 13-4 lead.
Then, in the second quarter, it was Gaddis coming off the bench to knock down five straight points, including a big three-pointer, to push the Punahou advantage to 27-12. Gaddis thrilled his teammates with his huge jump shot from the wing, plus the dreadlocks he decided to wear on game day.
"My friend did it for me earlier. Maybe it helped, I don't know," Gaddis said, smiling broadly after the game while taking some good-natured ribbing from his teammates.
Then, in the third quarter, it was a steal and layup by Henry Cassiday as Punahou's trapping press helped push the lead to 37-16 by the end of the third quarter.
The Buffanblu kept up the pressure in the fourth period and ended up winning by 25 points. Toma finished with 12 points to lead the way. Scott Burns also had a team high 12 points for Mililani, who stunned the OIA basketball community last week with a huge win in the OIA championship tournament.
Punahou now moves on to face Konawaena of the Big Island Friday night in the championship semifinals at the Blaisdell Arena. Game time for that matchup between ILH and BIIF teams is set for 8pm.BOYS DI @ Radford
Game 10: Punahou (11-3) vs. #3 Mililani (13-3)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Punahou 15 13 9 19 56
Mililani 10 4 2 15 31
Punahou – Robert Toma, 12 points; Mililani – Scott Burns, 10 points
OTHER SCORES FROM BOYS D-I TOURNAMENT:
Results from Day 2 of the Hawaiian Airlines Boys Basketball State Championships.
DIVISION I
BOYS DI @ McKinley
Game 5 (consolation semifinal): Campbell (11-6) def. Kalaheo (14-3)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Kalaheo 23 12 17 22 74
Campbell 10 22 20 23 75
Kalaheo – Cheynne Lishman, 24 points; Campbell – Michael Makinano, 30 points.
BOYS DI @ McKinley
Game 6 (quarterfinal): KS-Hawaii (14-2) def. #4 KS-Maui (12-4)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
KS-Hawaii 13 15 13 11 52
KS-Maui 7 8 10 13 38
KS-Hawaii – Colton Collins, 12 points; KS-Maui – Kekoa Turbeville, 12 points.
BOYS DI @ McKinley
Game 7 (quarterfinal): Moanalua (13-5) def. #1 Iolani (11-3)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Moanalua 10 11 20 17 58
#1 Iolani 8 12 15 20 55
Moanalua – Stevie Austin, 23 points; Iolani – Taylor Mounts, 21 points.
BOYS DI @ Radford
Game 8 (consolation semifinal): Kahuku (12-5) def. Lahainaluna (11-6)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Lahainaluna 15 8 18 8 49
Kahuku 11 15 16 20 62
Lahainaluna – John Craig, 15 points; Kahuku – Mikeli Damuni, 18 points.
BOYS DI @ Radford
Game 9 (quarterfinal): #2 Konawaena (15-1) def. KS-Kapalama (12-5)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
KS-Kapalama 14 6 11 22 53
Konawaena 15 17 8 14 54
KS-Kapalama – Blake Viena, 11 points; Konawaena – Austonn Lazoff, 17 points.
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