Ayndra Uperesa-Thomas (4) goes up for a layup and scored 23 points to help the Buffanblu win the Punahou Invitational. Brandon Ching | ScoringLive

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Sat, Dec 9, 2023 @ Punahou

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Mililani

62

Punahou

66

Final	1	2	3	4
Mililani (12-1, 21-6)	20	11	15	16	62
Punahou (9-2, 23-6)	15	21	6	24	66

A. Uperesa-Thomas 23 pts  2 3pm  3/6 FTs

L. Pine 24 pts  4/6 FTs

Ayndra Uperesa-Thomas and James Taras combined to score 21 of the team's 24 fourth quarter points as host Punahou rallied and held off Mililani, 66-62, to win their own Invitational for the first time since 2018 at Hemmeter Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.

It was a rematch of the two teams one week ago as the Buffanblu beat the Trojans, 52-38, on the final day of the James Alegre Invitational at Radford.

"Probably conditioning. That team can go up and down as good as anybody," Mililani coach Garrett Gabriel said of the improvement from the first meeting. "We stressed we had three days of practice and we did work on some conditioning."

"We know each other a little more. They're getting better, we're getting better. They knew a little bit more of what to expect. They prepared for us, they prepared for the press and did a good job. Their two other scorers stepped up," Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said.

However, in the second time around, the Trojans gave Punahou all it could handle as the Buffanblu prepare for a grueling ILH schedule.

"I felt it was like an ILH game. Mililani plays similar to Maryknoll and they're physical and the way they played today was like Saint Louis, Pine was inside, outside and he was hard to stop and they had great guard play. They're a very disciplined team and they run their stuff and I felt it was a grind-it-out type, high-pressure ILH game," Matsuda said.

Timothy Dorn did not play due to injury, but Lauvai Pine broke out to score a game-high 24 points and was 4 for 6 from the free throw line.

"He improved his jumper over the summer. He's a dual threat. He can shoot from the outside and do it inside. We stress him being more consistent. But he's done a good job for us, he needs to score for us to be successful," Gabriel said.

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Roman Gabriel and LeCedric Brown were held in check with four points in the first matchup, but erupted for 15 points with a pair of 3-pointers and 12 points respectively.

"I think they're the key. How they play will dictate how our season will goes because I know what the big guys are going to do. As long as they grow up and get better each week, every game, that will help our team tremendously," Gabriel said.

"Their two other scorers stepped up. Pine was unstoppable pretty much and so was Roman, we did a good job containing him," Matsuda said. "They were looking tough all week, so I felt we were going to end up playing them again."

Mililani led, 49-42, after Aaron Matsuda drained a 3-pointer in the left corner. Uperesa-Thomas scored the next seven-straight points to tie the game at 49 with 6:49 to go in the fourth.

"I think for us, our offense starts in the fast break. Being able to get some momentum going and getting an easy layup and helps everyone calm down on offense and we can get a bucket if we need to and that's okay. That's our philosophy on why we run down court to get things going and to play at our pace," Taras said.

The Trojans extended it back to four off Gabriel's cut and score from Brown. Uperesa-Thomas scored in the paint and in transition to tie the score up before Gabriel hit a baseline floater.

Dillon Kellner scored in transition to give Punahou their first lead since the third quarter and Taras extended the lead to three from the right block. Pine converted the 3-point play to tie the game at 60 with 1:47 to go.

Uperesa-Thomas canned a 3-pointer from the right wing at the 1:33 mark and Taras hit a turnaround shot that went glass to make it, 65-60. Matsuda converted an assist from Gabriel to trail by three. With 12.2 seconds left, Taras split the pair of free throws to go up four to end the game.

"That was always a good sign, seeing the ball going through the net early in the game, that was a good confidence booster," Uperesa-Thomas said.

"Coach Darren said to run the offense and move it and get good shots. Both of us felt good so when we had the chance, we took it," Taras said.

Uperesa-Thomas scored 14 of his 23 points in the final period and Taras added seven points in the fourth and finished with 17.

The Buffanblu averaged 63.6 points per game in their three tournament wins.

Mililani got off to a hot start and went up by as much as 11 in the first quarter as Gabriel hit perimeter shots and Pine established himself in the paint. Punahou made a late 6-0 run to end the quarter as Uperesa-Thomas' putback beat the buzzer to trail, 20-15.

"They (Mililani) came with a lot more energy and they tried to get a revenge game on us and it was a good matchup," Uperesa-Thomas said.

"It was a game of streaks. We had our runs, they had theirs. But in the end, they had more than we did. Kudos to them, they're a very good team," Gabriel said.

The Buffanblu chipped away and got within one after Kody Jones scored on a wide-open look from the left block to force a Trojan timeout. Taras tied the game at 26 with a 3-pointer from the right wing, but the Trojans answered with four points and Brown's drive to the rim made it, 30-26.

"We moved the ball a lot better in the second quarter. We got caught up in the beginning of the game and we were doing everything off the dribble. We needed to move the ball better and share the ball and we did that, especially in the second and fourth, and that was the difference. We won those two quarters and playing better together helped us for sure," Matsuda said.

Punahou went 7 for 10 (70 percent) from the charity stripe and shot 16 for 24 (66.6 percent) overall for the game.

"We know we can't settle when we're moving the ball and getting stuff at the rim, that's when we're our best," Uperesa-Thomas said.

Ethan Chung scored five points and his 3-pointer gave Punahou a 33-31 lead and Dillon Kellner and Dash Watanabe combined to shoot 3 for 4 from the free throw line for a 36-31 lead going into halftime.

The Trojans shot 3 for 9 (33.3 percent) from the free throw line in the first half and finished 6 for 12 (50 percent) for the game.

"We were very aggressive. I always tell them, you can be aggressive and get fouled and go to the free throw line but if you go to the free throw line and don't make them it's for nothing. So I like the aggressiveness, but we gave up some easy baskets that hurt us," Gabriel said.

Punahou maintained a seven point lead in the third quarter however Pine and Brown accounted for a 11-0 run to close out the quarter as Mililani outscored the Buffanblu, 15 to 6 to take a 46-42 lead going into the final stanza.

Punahou will participate in the Kalaheo Invitational next week and go to San Diego to partake in the Torrey Pines tournament after Christmas.

Mililani beat Mid-Pacific, 52-42 in the opening round and handily defeated Kalaheo, 53-34 in the semifinals to reach the tournament final.

The Trojans face DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Maryland) in the first round of the Iolani Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 19.