Big second half propels 'Iolani past MPI, 51-43


'Iolani guard Trevyn Tulonghari puts up a shot in traffic over Mid-Pacific's Marcus Doi. Brien Ing | SL
'Iolani overcame an eight-point halftime deficit last night to rally past and then hold off Mid-Pacific, 51-43, in Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys basketball action.

A Senior Night crowd of about 450 at MPI watched the Raiders improve to 10-1 in the ILH heading into Tuesday's showdown against Punahou (10-3). Mid-Pacific fell to 6-7.

But for much of last night's game, the Owls showed they can be a very dangerous team in the upcoming league tournament.

They finished the first period with a 10-2 run to go up, 22-14, entering the second and then maintained the margin by taking a 31-23 halftime lead.

Shaun Dobovan, Terrance Tenjoma and Jordan Doi each drained a 3-pointer for MPI, and Dobovan finished the half with nine points. Leading scorer Patrick Matthews had only two points.

"They've got a lot of weapons," 'Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto said. "I think we're deeper, but we still couldn't stay in front of them, and we still kept missing shots inside ... that's a credit to them."

The Raiders began the second half with a 7-0 run capped by Reid Saito's jumper to close it to 31-30 with 5:41 remaining in the third period. A 3-pointer by Trevyn Tulonghari put 'Iolani ahead, 37-35, entering the fourth.

The Owls tied it at 37-37 on Matthew Carland's layup to open the final period, but Tulonghari answered with a layup to start the Raiders on a 10-4 run capped by Josiah Sukumaran's two free throws to go up, 47-41, with 2:01 left.

Mid-Pacific cut it to 47-43 after two foul shots by Dobovan with 1:09 remaining, but Tulonghari responded with a pair of free throws 14 seconds later and Jourdan Simmonds sealed the victory with 21.3 ticks left.

"They know how to win," Owls coach Nate Hu said of 'Iolani.

Tulonghari finished with a game-high 20 points -- all in the final three periods. Dobovan led MPI with 11 points.