LIVE BLOG: Punahou Invitational, Day 3

This is Final 4 day, semifinal-round play and consolation bracket battles at the Punahou Invitational. Had some work to clear out this morning and got here to Hemmeter Fieldhouse by 12:30 p.m. for the tip-off between No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii and a very talented, freshman-heavy Damien squad.

Capsules below will be newest to oldest, or reverse chronological order.

Consolation Bracket
No. 1 Punahou 44, Tesoro (Calif.) 41, final
Cole Mausolf’s 3 gives Punahou a 43-41 lead, and a blocked shot by the Buffanblu leads to free throws for Zayne Chong with 12 seconds left. He hits one. The Titans bring the ball to midcourt and call time out. Willie Duggan misses from the wing, an air ball, but Punahou touches the ball out of bounds. With 1.4 seconds left, Tesoro gets a last-second shot from the corner, but it’s long. Punahou vs. St. Francis in the championship game tomorrow.

No. 1 Punahou 32, Tesoro (Calif.) 31, end 3Q

No. 1 Punahou 30, Tesoro (Calif.) 28, 2Q, 2:20
The visitors rallied to tie the game at 26 with easy layups, using basic UCLA cuts to baffle the Buffanblu. The tone went to testy as a few players have begun to exchange pleasantries. An enthused and very vocal pro-Titans crowd has energized their team. They number less than 15, but they’re louder than the rest of the gym, which is a mix of other teams and families, and there’s no real Punahou student section. But the Punahou alumni band is definitely in sync during breaks.

No. 1 Punahou 25, Tesoro (Calif.) 18, halftime
The Titans had a chance to cut the lead with Punahou racking up fouls late in the first half, but the host team leads by seven at the break.

No. 1 Punahou 15, Tesoro (Calif.) 7, end 1Q
The Buffanblu are running the floor as usual. Cole Mausolf’s corner 3 sparked a run in the final 4 minutes of the quarter. Punahou is ranked No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10 this week.

No. 5 St. Francis 56, No. 2 Maryknoll 48, final
Spartans ice-cold from the field and the Saints get 9-for-10 shooting at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter by Kameron Ng to seal the big victory. St. Francis will meet the Punahou-Tesoro (Calif.) winner on Saturday night for the tournament championship.

No. 5 St. Francis 54, No. 2 Maryknoll 48, , 4Q, :14.4

No. 5 St. Francis 52, No. 2 Maryknoll 48, , 4Q, :29.7
Kameron Ng fouled, hits two FTs. Isiah Gelacio, 10-foot J good. Time out, Maryknoll.

No. 5 St. Francis 50, No. 2 Maryknoll 46, , 4Q, 1:00
Isiah Gelacio drives, dishes to Kamata, open 3 from the top is good. Time out, Maryknoll.

No. 5 St. Francis 50, No. 2 Maryknoll 43, , 4Q, 1:07
A steal by Kamata on Kameron Ng, feeds Marcus Tobin, layup for Maryknoll. But Ng hits four FTs. Then he steals a pass and St. Francis calls time out.

No. 5 St. Francis 46, No. 2 Maryknoll 41, , 4Q, 3:48
Saints spread the court with Kameron Ng on the bench, but Maryknoll turns a steal into a bucket by Makoto Kamata. Manoa Kuali‘i-Moe answers with a bank shot in the paint. Kameron Ng returns.

No. 5 St. Francis 44, No. 2 Maryknoll 39, , 4Q, 7:01
Kameron Ng called for a push-off offensive foul to begin the fourth quarter, his fourth foul. He sits with 7:01 left to play.

No. 5 St. Francis 44, No. 2 Maryknoll 39, , end 3Q
Kameron Ng drawing quick double coverage and driving to dish consistently. This time, he finds Jett Tanuvasa on the left wing, all net to give the Saints a five-point lead.

No. 5 St. Francis 39, No. 2 Maryknoll 36, , 3Q, 2:25
St. Francis ties it on a 3 by Kameron Ng, 32-all. Then Jaylen Cain committed his fourth foul with 4:50 left in the third and sat. Twice, Maryknoll scored and twice Kameron Ng hit free throws to the game at 34 and 36. Then Kameron Ng corrals his own missed 3, feeds Nishida and he hits from 22 feet straight out. Time out, Spartans.

No. 2 Maryknoll 30, No. 5 St. Francis 29, halftime
With Kameron Ng off the court (foul trouble), the Saints fell behind 22-13. After a time out, they found themselves. Kordell Ng, Jett Tanuvasa, Bryce Nishida stroked 3-pointers. After Nishida hit two foul shots, hit hit a 3 off a feed from Kordell Ng, and after Manoa Kualii-Moe drove hard for a three-point play, Maryknoll’s lead was down to 30-29 with 1:45 left in the half. Kalai Akaka’s layup gave Maryknoll a three-point lead at the half.

No. 2 Maryknoll 22, No. 5 St. Francis 13, 2Q, 6:02
Kameron Ng picks up his third foul and leaves with 6:20 left in the second. Saints getting good looks, but missing easy layups. Spartans cashing in at the foul line.

No. 2 Maryknoll 15, No. 5 St. Francis 11, end 1Q
Very slow tempo, almost like an ILH D-I regular-season game. Not sure if this is good for St. Francis, which likes to run, but can actually rest a little after two tough games.

No. 2 Maryknoll 10, No. 5 St. Francis 8, 1Q, 2:56
Spartans crashing the offensive glass to get an early edge. Straight man defense by Maryknoll. So far, Kameron Ng has three points on two shot attempts. He had 31 in the win over Sequoia yesterday.

Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) 84, Hawaii Baptist 63, final

Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) 73, Hawaii Baptist 53, 4Q
Longhorns doing a nice job of spreading the floor and hitting cutting teammates.

Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) 66, Hawaii Baptist 49, 4Q, 6:50
HBA cut the lead down to 11 (60-49), but the Longhorns answered with back-to-back treys to open the lead back up to 17.

Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) 32, Hawaii Baptist 12, end 1Q
I’ll say this for the Eagles. It doesn’t matter who or where they play, they’re true to their style and philosophy. They’ve launched at least 15 3-point shots, missing most. It took awhile before they really attacking with conviction and that’s when the points started coming. Problem is the much taller Longhorns are dominating on the offensive glass. That’s something most 3-point dependent teams can’t overcome on any level.

Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) 32, Hawaii Baptist 12, end 1Q

Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) 18, Hawaii Baptist 4, 1Q, 4:00
The Longhorns are taking advantage of HBA’s cold perimeter shooting, turning missed 3s into fastbreak buckets.

Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.) 75, Sequoia (Calif.) 61, final
Jonathan Heist’s wing 3 breaks the cold snap from 3-point range for Sequoia, cutting the lead to 72-61, but the Cherokee get no closer. Their ability to stretch the floor diminished Lauese’s effectiveness, but he still finished with nine rebounds and four blocks.

Jack Garza was superb with 31 points, 16 in the third quarter on an assortment of buckets and three treys. Kevin Kobrine scored nine of his 21 in the fourth quarter and John Humphreys finished with 10. Ben Coffman struggled early on but finished strong with all seven of his points in the fourth quarter.

Lauese finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. Lio Lauese had nine.

Turns out Coach Fine Lauese flew back home to California to attend the wedding of one of his nephews. Good uncle.

Sequoia 72, Corona Del Mar 58, 4Q, 1:32
Fullcourt press hasn’t hampered CDM, who are scoring easily now. Sequoia continues to shoot ice-cold from the arc.

Sequoia 66 Corona Del Mar 51, 4Q, 3:39
Cherokee are ice-cold from the perimeter and Lauese is being shadowed by two or three defenders on every touch in the low post. Ben Coffman hits a 3 and drives uncontested for a layup as the Sea Kings take their biggest lead of the game. It’s been a 14-4 run since the end of the third quarter.

Sequoia 52, Corona Del Mar 47, end 3Q
CDM with three treys during a major run that gives them a 50-45 lead. Two of the treys came from 6-7 junior Jack Garza, who has playing great in the second half.

Sequoia 34, Corona Del Mar 31, 3Q, 7:22
More ballhandling issues for CDM. Lauese powers inside for a bucket and Pedram Attari picks the PG for a layup, but is whistled for taunting. Technical foul and CDM hits one FT.

Sequoia 30, Corona Del Mar 29, halftime
Ziggy Lauese drains a corner 3 at the buzzer to give the Cherokee a slim halftime lead. Ziggy Lauese with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Sequoia 25, Corona Del Mar 23, 2Q, 2:22
Technical foul on CDM, which is having difficulty bringing the ball upcourt against Sequoia’s rugged on-ball pressure. One of their guards shoved a Sequoia player in the back. Sequoia hits the FTs to take the lead.

Corona Del Mar 21, Sequoia 16, 2Q, 4:33
Cherokee coming alive. Ziggy Lauese with his second block (six points, seven boards so far) and they’re within five. CDM opened the lead to 23-8 before Sequoia locked down defensively.

Corona Del Mar 21, Sequoia 8, end 1Q
Time out by Sequoia, which looks slugglish. Coach Fine Lauese isn’t here. CDM on an 11-0 run, literally outrunning the Cherokee up and down the floor. Ziggy Lauese barely getting any touches in the paint, but he has four points and five rebounds.

Jake Griffin strokes a straightaway 3 at the buzzer to cap a 13-0 run by the Sea Kings.

Sequoia (Redwood City, Calif.) vs. Corona Del Mar (Newport City, Calif.)
I have a feeling this game won’t be too friendly. Neither team wants to lose an in-state game in Hawaii. I’m expecting Sequoia’s 6-foot-6 center, Ziggy Lauese, to play like he’s on fire after being limited to 14 minutes due to foul trouble in yesterday’s loss to St. Francis.

South Anchorage (Alaska) 57, Kamehameha II 45, final
Steffano Orbase, Tommy Cha and Lian Lincoln scored 13 points apiece for the Wolverines. Kaethen Kahana pumped in 25 points for the D-II Warriors.

South Anchorage (Alaska) 44, Kamehameha II 29, end 3Q

South Anchorage (Alaska) 34, Kamehameha II 23, halftime
The Wolverines are back in control after surrendering a 14-0 run midway through the first half.

South Anchorage (Alaska) 27, Kamehameha II 17, 2Q, 4:52
After trailing 16-3, the Warriors went on a 14-0 run behind a fullcourt press to take a 17-16 lead. South Anchorage answered with an 11-0 run behind three treys, including two by Lian Lincoln.

South Anchorage (Alaska) 16, Kamehameha II 10, end 1Q
The Wolverines had a 16-3 lead before the D-II Warriors began to press fullcourt.

No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii 55, Damien 47, final
Senior Nalu Kahapea scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half as the Warriors rallied from an 11-point deficit for the win. Isaiah Nakoa-Oness and Izayah Chartrand-Penera added nine points each for KS-Hawaii (8-3).

Dimonyai Lacey scored 13 points and Jydon Hall tallied all 11 of his points in the first half for Damien (4-5). Senior Crumel Mooring chipped in eight points.

No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii 53, Damien 44, 4Q, :33.6
Monarchs miss a layup on a breakaway play, miss a 3, miss a tough layup inside. Then Lacey is called for a foul (over the back), and he pushes a Warrior player away with one hand, not really to fight, I’d say. He gets a technical foul. KS-Hawaii has four FTs (double bonus plus technical shots) with :33.6 left and makes all four.

No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii 49, Damien 44, 4Q, 1:38
Randon Arima’s wing 3 on a pass from Kahapea gives KS-Hawaii a 46-43 lead. Moments later, down 46-44, Lacey powers inside for a bucket but is called for traveling. Stephenson disagrees. I don’t blame him.

Warriors lead 47-44 when Lacey is called for another near the baseline, and this one is legit. Warriors go to the foul line with 1:38 left and Chartrand-Penera hits both shots for a five-point lead.

No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii 43, Damien 41, 4Q, 3:30
Izayah Chartrand-Penera’s layup gives the Warriors the lead with 4:21 left.

Damien 39, No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii 37, 4Q, 5:59
Back-to-back treys have the Warriors right back in this game. Damien’s air-tight defense has paid the price for backing off too much.

Damien 39, No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii 29, end 3Q
Crumel Mooring’s bucket at the buzzer lifts the Monarchs’ lead back up to 10.

Damien 34, No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii 25, 3Q, 2:52
The Monarchs opened the lead to 13. Kahapea just went coast to coast for a layup. If he plays the rest of the way, the 6-5 senior will be a matchup nightmare. He pretty much had his way in the first quarter and rested all or most of the second quarter.

Damien 26, No. 9 Kamehameha-Hawaii 19, halftime
The Monarchs are playing with substantially more energy than the Warriors. I’d attribute this to the fact that KS-Hawaii traveled here and is now in the third day of games, while Damien can sleep at home in their comfy confines. With mom’s home cooking.

But really, Damien is just playing stellar today. 6-foot-4 freshman Dimonyai Lacey has been a revelation in the low post with beautiful drop-step moves and other nice footwork. Freshman. He played through two early person fouls, which tells me that Coach Alvin Stephenson trusts him immensely or just figured, it’s on his center to adjust NOW to the officials rather than expect them to change the way they call the game.

At least in this half, the cornerstone for Damien has been air-tight man defense. Playing the lanes, not really denying the pass, but snug enough to deflect rushed passes. The Warriors are playing a lot of their bench today. Coach Mea Wong still has starters in the mix. Nalu Kahapea had a strong first quarter with two 3-pointers.

Mid-Pacific 73, Punahou II 50, final
Colin Ramos scored 17 points and Bobby Thompson added 13 for the Owls (5-5). Kamana Lapina tallied nine points, and Kyle Lagana and Hugh Donlon chipped in eight points apiece. Kaimi Dunaway paced the D-II Buffanblu with 17 points.

Hilo 51, Sequim (Wash.) 50, final
Kekaukahi Alameda poured in 23 points to lead the Vikings (10-8). Shelsey Martinez added 11 points, including two treys. Payton Glasser led the Wolves with 17 points. Nate Despain added 11.

Wednesday’s scores
>> Game 1: Corona Del Mar (Costa Mesa, Calif.) 57, Punahou II 43
>> Game 2: Maryknoll 62, Damien 50
>> Game 3: St. Francis 69, Mid-Pacific 38
>> Game 4: Sequoia (Redwood City, Calif.) 64, Kamehameha-Hawaii 50
>> Game 5: Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) 71, Kamehameha II 23
>> Game 6: Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) 72, Sequim (Wash.) 27
>> Game 7: Hawaii Baptist 60, South Anchorage (Anchorage, Alaska) 59
>> Game 8: Punahou 89, Hilo 39

Thursday’s scores
>> Game 9: Maryknoll 49, Corona Del Mar (Costa Mesa, Calif.) 34
>> Game 10: St. Francis 66, Sequoia (Redwood City, Calif.) 61
>> Game 11: Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) 52, Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) 39
>> Game 12: Punahou 84, Hawaii Baptist 42
>> Game 13: Damien 68, Punahou II 52
>> Game 14: Kamehameha-Hawaii 53, Mid-Pacific 48
>> Game 15: Kamehameha II 49, Sequim (Wash.) 37
>> Game 16: South Anchorage (Anchorage, Alaska) 59, Hilo 48

Friday’s scores
Punahou Invitational
>> Game 17: Mid-Pacific 73, Punahou II 50
>> Game 18: Hilo 51, Sequim (Wash.) 50
>> Game 19: Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.) 75, Sequoia (Redwood City, Calif.) 61
>> Game 20: Leigh (San Jose, Calif.) vs. Hawaii Baptist, 5 p.m.
>> Game 21: Kamehameha-Hawaii 55, Damien 47
>> Game 22: South Anchorage (Alaska) 57, Kamehameha II 45
>> Game 23: Maryknoll vs. St. Francis, 6:30 p.m. (semifinal)
>> Game 24: Punahou vs. Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 8 p.m. (semifinal)

SATURDAY, DEC. 30
Punahou Invitational
>> Game 25: Punahou II vs. Sequim (Wash.), 9:30 a.m.
>> Game 26: Mid-Pacific vs. Hilo, 11 a.m.
>> Game 27: Damien vs. Kamehameha II, 12:30 p.m.
>> Game 28: South Anchorage (Alaska) vs. Kamehameha-Hawaii, 3:30 p.m.
>> Game 29: Sequoia (Redwood City, Calif.) vs. Loser Game 20, 2 p.m.
>> Game 30: Corona Del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.) vs. Winner Game 20, 5 p.m. (fifth place)
>> Game 31: Loser Game 24 vs. Loser Game 23, 6:30 p.m. (third place)
>> Game 32: Winner Game 24 vs. Winner Game 23, 8 p.m. (championship)