He probably wasn't on the floor nearly as much as he would have liked, but Kalei Zuttermeister certainly made the most out of every minute he was on the hardwood.

Despite being foul-strapped most of the night, Zuttermeister poured in a game-high 22 points to lead Kalaheo to a 55-49 victory over Farrington in the second semifinal of the OIA Red boys basketball playoffs at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.

"He hit big shots, and was all over the glass in the first half." said Kalaheo head coach Alika Smith. "I ask a lot out of him, and all he's done is respond. And tonight was just another night."

The game itself however, was anything but another night for the Mustangs, who found themselves in a dogfight with the Governors throughout.

In their first meeting on January 16, Kalaheo led 14-4 after the first quarter, and a commanding 33-14 at halftime. But the Govs were definitely game tonight, jumping out to a 10-6 lead at the 3 minute mark in the first on back-to-back baskets by Mark Duldalao and Jacob MacEnroe.

Kalaheo responded down the stretch in the first, going on a 11-0 scoring run capped off by a Zuttermeister three at the buzzer to give the Stangs a 15-10 lead.

The Govs responded in a big way in the second quarter from the 5:30 mark, when guard Isaiah Smith was fouled on a three-point attempt from the left corner. The shot swished through, giving Smith the chance at a four-point play, and his conversion on the ensuing free throw trimmed the margin to just 2 for Farrrington.

Clearly winning the battle on the backboards, the Govs continued to press in the quarter, and David Luafatasago's move to the hoop in the closing seconds before intermission tied the score at 23-all.

Zuttermeister opened up the second half in a big way, nailing two huge threes on consecutive possessions from the right wing to give the Stangs a quick six-point cushion.

He would depart for the middle stages of the third after picking up his third foul, but returned in the closing moments, which allowed him more than enough time to pull down an offensive board for a putback and then score the final basket in the quarter off a nifty post move.

"I just thought I had to come in and do what I do," said Zuttermeister of his hot-shooting third quarter. "Rebound, shoot, whatever I need to do for my team, to help the team out."

Despite Kalei's 10 points in the quarter, it was Farrington that led 40-39.

In the fourth, Kalaheo turned to senior mainstays Derick Morgan and Josh Ko, and both came through on cue.

Morgan opened up the quarter with a driving bucket and then found a wide-open Shem Sukumaran for a wide-open layup.

Ko delivered a pair of clutch baskets on nearly identical drives down the lane, converting the second one despite a Farrington foul, but missed the bonus.

With Tyler Liana's 10th point of the second-half trimming the lead to just one, Morgan drove off the right baseline and took the ball strong to the basket plus the foul, and converted to extend the lead to 50-46.

Farrington's Van Hugo three-point basket with just under a minute left trimmed the margin to 3 at 52-49, and the Govs had four shots from point-blank range on the ensuing possession to bring them within a point but couldn't convert.

Kalaheo was far from stellar from the stripe, but managed to hit 3-of-7 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Up next for Kalaheo is a rematch with Moanalua, a 44-31 winner over West top-seed Kapolei in the first semifinal. In the first meeting between the two teams, Kalaheo eked out a 41-40 win at home.

"We're looking to see a much better Moanalua team." said Ko of the Stangs opponent in the OIA Red title game. "In the regular season, it didn't look like they were as synched up as a unit. But seeing them play against Kapolei (in the first semifinal), they were moving the ball so efficiently. We know we need to come out ready to play tomorrow."