Iolani's Zach Buscher works off a screen by Kamu Borden against Kamehameha. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Iolani, ranked third in the ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, outscored the visiting Kamehameha Warriors 31-19 in the second half to open up Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I play with a win. The Raiders' one-point halftime lead blossomed into a 50-37 victory after a trip to the locker room.

"Way to start off the season," said Iolani's Zach Buscher. "(Kamehameha) came out firing, they're a good team. I thought we came together (down the stretch), got some good energy and finished pretty well."

The halftime break is generally a chance to implement some adjustments, but Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto stresses that there was no drastic change to the game plan.

"We came in with the same game plan as we have all preseason; we want to push the tempo. Sometimes tempo doesn't catch up until the second half," Shimamoto said. "We said just keep coming, just keep doing what you're doing."

"I think the tempo starts to wear on teams," Shimamoto continued. "We play a lot of guys, we play ten guys (and) they're real active. "It's tough to put out ten guys against us and not get tired too. We kind of just stuck to the game plan, really nothing super special. "I'm glad our guys were able to execute and play hard the whole time."

One way Iolani accelerated the tempo is with their intensity on the defensive end. The Raiders forced the Warriors into a sub-40 percent shooting night, missing 20 of their 33 shot attempts.

"Just get after it, make them work. Our defense is predicated on full-court pressure and making (the other team) tired," explained Buscher. "I think we might have got to them a little bit; a lot of their shots were short and stuff."

Along with making Kamehameha work for good shot attempts, Iolani also made the Warriors work on defense, moving the ball around the court to get some good looks at the rim.

"I don't think we shot as many threes in the second half. We got a lot more things going (around) the basket," Shimamoto said. "The message wasn't that much different (at halftime), but we did want to get more finishes closer to the basket."

A look at the box score statistics echo Shimamoto's statements. Iolani shot the ball poorly from behind the arc, converting their 3-point attempts at a 36.4 percent clip. On the other hand, the Raiders converted 55 percent of their two-point attempts, going 11-for-20 on shots within the arc.

The concerted effort to get shots closer to the rim paid its dividends in the second half, allowing the Raiders to attempt 15 second half free throw attempts, after only four in the first half. Iolani finished the contest going 16-for-19 at the free-throw line, accounting for nearly a third of the Raiders' total points.

"First half we tried to force a little bit too much when we had mismatches and stuff. We just tried to move the ball and get good buckets, good shots, and try to get in the paint," Buscher elaborated. "Just offensively (we needed to) just keep attacking. Trying to draw contact and finish at the rim. We didn't do a good job finishing (in the second half). Kamu (Borden) in the second half, our big man, great job finishing and hitting free throws."

Iolani will face off with Kamehameha again on Jan. 22, only this time it'll be on the Warriors' home court. Tip off for the rematch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

"Every win is a good win. The ILH is so tough, six tough teams. I don't care how you get (a win), but we'll take it," Shimamoto said after the game.