Punahou hangs tough against national power Oak Hill

Brian Bautista | SL

As expected, Oak Hill is marching on to the second round of the Iolani Classic, but Punahou ensured it was not a cakewalk by any stretch.

The Buffanblu hung nearly point for point with the Warriors for three quarters, but a big final period helped the visitors from Mouth of Wilson, Va. pull away to a 76-61 win.

Ethan Mgbako had a game-high 23 points and Howard Willams added 17 more to lead the way for Oak Hill in scoring, while Punahou got double digit scoring output frrom Tanoa Scanlan (14), Zion White (13) and Ethan Chung (11).

Despite the loss, the Buffanblu's performance was statistically notable.

The 15 point margin of victory for Oak Hill was the slimmest over a Hawaii opponent in the "ScoringLive era," and the first time a local school had even cracked the 60 point threshhold since 2010. Prior to this game, the smallest deficit for a game versus the Warriors by a team from the 808 was a 28 point gap in 2010, an 81-53 win over host Iolani.

Up next for Oak Hill is the winner between Kamehameha and Imhotep Institute, set for 5 p.m. Wednesday.