University Lab needs buzzer beater to eke past Iolani

Greg Yamamoto | SL

Koa Laboy's putback of teammate Alika Ahu's floater with just over a second left in regulation was the difference in a heart-stopping 51-50 win for third ranked University Lab over seventh ranked Iolani.

The game winning sequence came just moments after Raymon Teocson's perfect lob pass to Declan Beckette resulted in a hook shot basket that titled the contest back into the Raiders' favor with just over nine seconds to go. Beckette finished with a game-high 17 points.

A closely contested battle throughout saw Iolani jump out to an early 7-0 lead before University Lab found a spurt of its own to not only close the gap but lead 13-11 after the first. The home team Raiders responded with a flurry of threes in the second quarter to vault ahead 30-22 at the break, and the teams played level in third before the Jr. Bows made its run in the fourth.

Kenna Quitan's huge three with 19 seconds to play capped a 13-4 run by the Jr. Bows, and the first lead since the opening moments of the second.

Iolani got 12 points from Ayden Goo and nine more from Aiden Wong in defeat, the third straight for the Raiders.

University Lab was led by Trey Ambrozich, who netted 16 points and hit all four of his free throw attempts. Ahu added nine points and Laboy eight.