Punahou accelerates past Farrington, 74-49

Punahou's Daniel Andrews rejects a Farrington shot attempt. Sylvia Lee | SL

Micah Ma'a and Daniel Andrews combined for 33 points and Punahou out-ran Farrington, 74-49, Friday night in the Na Menehune OIA/ILH Challenge at Moanalua High's gym.

Ma'a, who had a game-high 17 points, came off the bench and dropped in 15 second-half points; Andrews poured in 11 of his 16 points in the first half. They also combined for five of the team's eight 3-pointers. Ma'a led with three while Andrews had a pair.

"He's come along pretty well," Punahou coach Darren Masuda said of Andrews. "He's getting more aggressive. That's what he needs to do: bring a hundred percent effort everyday. He has the skills to get the job done."

Jacob McEnroe led Farrington with 14 points, 11 of them coming in the first half.

Punahou took a 22-16 after the first quarter and widened their lead with a 12-0 run to open the second quarter. The Governors didn't get on the board until two minutes, 50 seconds left in the half when McEnroe scored off an offensive board and tagged on the ensuing free throw when he was fouled on the play.

The Buffanblu cushioned their already big lead by opening the third quarter with 3-pointers from Andrews and Nicholas Velasquez, who had 12 points, the third Buffanblu to score in double figures. Kupono Fey started the game strong, scoring all of his eight points in the first half.

Dayson Watanabe and Ma'a added two more 3-pointers in the third quarter. Ma'a added two more in the fourth.

The Governors, who started four players at least 6 feet, 1 inches tall, including 6-5 post Mason Semisi, apparently will boast one of the more physical teams in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association. But the Buffanblu neutralized that size by moving the ball quickly up and down the court.

"Against big teams, we have to try to counter that with our speed and aggressiveness," Masuda said. "So our game plan was to run as much as we could on them and hopefully tire them out a little bit, make them play our game because if we play their game, they'll probably just pound us inside."

"The key was staying disciplined," added Andrews. "They got out and ran with us, but we didn't have too many turnovers tonight, I think."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].