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Playing with a focused determination since its heart-breaking loss from a season ago, Kamehameha knocked off top-seeded 'Iolani, 64-53, Saturday night to reclaim the Hawaiian Airlines Division I boys' state basketball title at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Warriors' 12th consecutive win of the season avenged a 46-43 loss to the Raiders in last year's title game. Kamehameha won the 2009 title, when some of the Warriors' seniors were sophomores, including the tourney's most outstanding player, Micah Christenson.

"It's a storybook ending," Christenson said. "Senior year. Losing it last year. There was a lot of emotion, especially before the game. It was a very emotional locker room. We really wanted to get this for each other and for our coaches."

Christenson, a factor all season and in the tournament, led with a game-high 21 points. They were well-earned points against an 'Iolani defense that tried its best to stop a player who was determined to win.

"Micah is unbelievable," 'Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto said. "We made him work for most of his shots, even the ones he made. Not much more we could do on those. He's just a really good player."

"He's been the heart and soul of this team for three years," Kamehameha coach Jesse Nakanishi said. "Sophomore year, he was that missing link of the nucleus that we had. These three years, he's been the heart and soul. People talk about his scoring, but he does everything else that I don't think he gets enough credit for."

The Warriors didn't give the Raiders a chance to catch their breath. The closest 'Iolani got was when it tied the game at 2 with 5:56 left in the first quarter. When Dyrbe Enos made a jumper at 5:05 in the first period, the Warriors never looked back. The Raiders pulled to within one three times in the first half, but only got to within three once in the second half.

"I'm not a big believer in the stall game," Nakanishi said. "So when we went ahead and they were applying the pressure, we had to attack it. Attack, attack, attack. Keep attacking."

Enos, who played a strong defensive game, and Charlton Tang each added eight points for Kamehameha. But the Warriors also got contributions off the bench from Shane Yoshida's 10 points and eight from Frank Ho, who had two 3-pointers.

The Warriors needed that boost off the bench because Reid Saito and Trevyn Tulonghari kept the Raiders as close as they could with 15 and 13 points, respectively.

For Kamehameha, Saturday night could not have come early enough. The pain from last year's title game loss stayed with them until Saturday.

"We were in the same locker room, the very same team from one year ago," Nakanishi said. "We came up a basket short. (Our players have) given me everything since that basket (the game-winning 3-pointer by 'Iolani's Kainoa Chu) and we made it here. It's a true testament to what hard work can do."


DIVISION I ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Most outstanding player: Micah Christenson, Kamehameha

Micah Dunhour, Academy of the Pacific
Trevyn Tulonghari, Iolani
Shairone Thompson, Kahuku
Reid Saito, Iolani
Dyrbe Enos, Kamehameha