ALIAMANU — Adversity hit the Kahuku boys basketball team in the face over the weekend. The Red Raiders punched back Monday night. 

Mystique Akina-Watson scored 16 points to lead four players in double figures in Kahuku's 62-46 win over previously-undefeated Nanakuli in the nightcap of a semifinal doubleheader at Radford James Alegre Gymnasium. 

The Red Raiders (11-1) rallied from a eight-point second-quarter deficit to turn back the Golden Hawks (11-1) and advance to Wednesday's OIA Division I championship game. 

Kahuku, the No. 3 team in this week's ScoringLive Power Rankings, will play No. 2 Kailua, the defending league champion, at 7:30 p.m. at Radford. 

Just about 72 hours prior to Monday's win over No. 8 Nanakuli, however, the Red Raiders saw leading scorer Ronin Naihe suffer a fractured wrist as a result of an in-game collision during Friday night's quarterfinal-round win over Leilehua. The injury will force Naihe to miss the remainder of the season. 

"Ronin was a big part and it's sad to see that but we have a good enough team and deep enough team to step up and those guys understand," Kahuku coach Brandyn Akana said. 

The Red Raiders proved that with a balanced team effort on both sides of the ball Monday night. 

Akina-Watson led the charge by shooting 6 of 9 from the field. Inoke Lloyd scored 12 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, D.C. Aukusitino came off the bench to tally 12 points, Kashus Daley hit three of his team's nine 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and five boards and Chauncey Ako — who was inserted into the starting lineup in place of the injured Naihe — contributed seven points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists. 

"We knew when Ronin got hurt we all had to step up because we relied on him heavily to score and everybody on the team can score, but now that he's gone we all have to do our part," said Akina-Watson, who also registered seven rebounds and three assists. 

It was the Golden Hawks who seized the momentum early. They shot a blistering 70 percent (7 of 10) in the first quarter, while Kahuku made just 3 of 14 field goals in the opening stanza. 

Nanakuli took its largest lead with 3:53 left in the second quarter on a putback by Ezekiel Donnell. It held an 18-12 advantage on the Red Raiders in first-half points in the paint. 

Kahuku got to within 25-22 at halftime and tied it at 25 just 28 seconds into the second half on a 3-pointer by Daley in transition. A little more than two minutes later, Lloyd's 3-pointer from the left corner gave his team the lead for good. 

The Red Raiders opened the second half on a 13-2 run that was capped by a Aukusitino 3-pointer that made it a 35-27 advantage with 2:52 left in the third. 

Lloyd leaned into a 3-pointer from the left wing as time expired in the period to stretch Kahuku's lead to 42-32 going into the fourth quarter. 

Nanakuli was able to cut it to an eight-point game after Zhyrisen Kalahekai knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 49-41 with 3:55 to play, but Kahuku separated with an 11-run that was sparked by Lloyd's three-point play and included 3-pointers by Daley and Ako. 

The Red Raiders dialed in from distance after halftime. They were just 2-of-12 on 3-pointers through the first two quarters, but made 7 of 11 from beyond the arc after the break. 

Defensively, they held the Golden Hawks to just 9-of-29 shooting (31 percent) from the field in the final three quarters. 

"We just brought the intensity and turned up on defense. We were talking about it in the locker room, that our press was weak at first and then we switched it to a zone press and it worked and we got steals and started getting the energy; that's what started the momentum on defense," Akina-Watson said. 

Akana praised Akina-Watson for leading the way in filling the void left behind by Naihe, the leading scorer in the OIA at 17.2 points per game. 

"He was huge, but that's our senior leader and captain and we told him that he's got to play — he's got to play like you mean it. He kind of took a while to get going, but towards the end he really stepped up," Akana said. 

Kahalekai scored 11 and Donnell and Vainuupo Fanuaea had 10 points apiece to lead Nanakuli. 

Kahuku forced Nanakuli into 17 turnovers, which it turned into a 21-10 advantage in points off turnovers. 

The Red Raiders also held a 33-25 edge in rebounding, which included 16 offensive rebounds. They parlayed that into a 16-7 margin in second-chance points. 

In the earlier semifinal at Radford on Monday, Maddox Pung scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the first half to lead Kailua to a 53-48 win over No. 10 Mililani. 

The Surfriders (11-1) never trailed and led the Trojans (9-3) by as many as 14 late in the second quarter. 

Pung shot 8 of 16 from the field and 10 of 15 from the free-throw line. He played all 32 minutes and also recorded five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. 

With his team a bit short-handed in the front court with Sebastian Ledda battling foul trouble and Joseph Bieniek forced to leave the game due to illness, Pung stepped up to fill the void. 

"We had to do some different things that we haven't done all year. We had to play with full guards out there," Kailua coach Wally Marciel said.

The Surfriders held a 28-14 lead with 40 seconds left in the second quarter following a runner in the lane by Pung. 

Mililani cut it to a 28-17 deficit at halftime and eventually got to within 45-44 after Tui Tukimaka made two of three from the free-throw line with 2:24 left in the game. However, reserve guard Keiichi Wilson answered with a straightaway 3-pointer off an assist from Ledda to make it a two-score game. 

"That was a big shot that he hit," Marciel said. 

Wilson also drew a charge against Tukimaka, Mililani's leading scorer, in the second quarter, which didn't go unnoticed by his teammates. 

"Sebastian was in foul trouble and JJ had stomach issues, but it was next man up and we had guys step up. Keiichi stepped up big time. He came in, took a big charge, hit a big 3, had a big hustle play and saved it off the guy's leg, so next man up — that's what happens when we got depth," Pung said. 

Mililani grabbed 33 rebounds to Kailua's 25. It tallied 12 offensive boards and held a 12-2 edge in second-chance points. 

"That's a tough team right there. We knew they'd crash boards so our emphasis was box out," Pung said. 

Bieniek scored eight points, Nainoa Hirasuna-Kenny had seven and Ledda chipped in six. Dylan Kunz grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for the Surfriders. 

Kailua shot 51.4 percent (19 of 37) from the field, including 57.1 percent (8 of 14) in the second half. 

Tukimaka had just three points at halftime, but finished with 18 to pace the Trojans. 

Pung credited Hirasuna-Kenny for playing tough defense on Tukimaka. 

"Tui's a great scorer and he's gonna make those tough shots, but the emphasis for Nai was to make him take those tough shots. Tui didn't get too much clean looks, so it was a great job by Nai," Pung said. 

Mililani shot 36 percent (18 of 50) from the field. 

Richard Windsor scored nine points with eight rebounds and Bronson Lei came off the bench to contribute six points and seven boards in the loss. 

The Trojans were seeking a fifth straight title game appearance. 

Nanakuli will host Mililani Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the third-place game. 

Kailua and Kahuku will follow the Division II final between Waianae (8-2) and Kaimuki (9-1) at 5:30 p.m.