Sat, Feb 1, 2025 @ Punahou

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Punahou

66

University Lab

63

Final	1	2	3	4
Punahou (9-5, 28-8)	20	10	15	21	66
University Lab (9-5, 21-11)	14	12	16	21	63

Trey Ambrozich 20 pts  3 3pm  5/6 FTs

Zion White 24 pts  2/3 FTs

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Led by 20-point efforts by Zion White and Tanoa Scanlan, Punahou avenged their loss to University Lab just four days prior with a narrow 66-63 win, inching ahead in the race for the second seed in the ILH postseason.

Three ILH teams are heading to the HHSAA state tournament this year in Division I with the top two finishers in the league automatically securing berths. As such, locking down one of the top two spots in the regular season is quite the advantage, which explained the playoff-like atmosphere, and tension.

An extremely chippy first two quarters ulitimately came to a head with four technical fouls, two for each team, being issued in a span of less than five minutes of game time, a pair coming about a minute left in the half, and the other two in the early moments of the third. From there things evenutally settled, with play on the floor taking centerstage rather than the banter following.

As expected from two of the most post-up heavy teams on the island, exceptional frontcourt play was what carried both squads through the tightly contested matchup. White and Scanlan — the duo of brilliant sophomore stars that have been the feature of Punahou's season thus far — combined for 47 points on the night. On the other end of the floor, 6'7 Trey Ambrozich finished with 20 points while pouring in 3 three-pointers, and 6'4 Koa Laboy added his own 19-point performance.

Along with his game-leading 24 points, White spent the entire contest shadowing Alika Ahu, who diced up the Buffanblu for 20 points in their previous contest. Today, Ahu finished with just nine.

"Our game plan was just to shut (Ahu) down. That was my man last game, and he had 20, so I just kind of took it personally. I wasn't going to let him put any points on me this time," said White when asked about his defensive assignment.

"I thought Zion stepped up big today. He didn't like the way he played in the first game, and he came back with a vengeance today," Punahou head coach Darren Matsuda added.

For University Lab, it was Laboy that simply controlled the game in the first three quarters. With Scanlan guarding Ambrozich and White on Ahu, Laboy looked to attack sharpshooter Ethan Chung on the low post from the tipoff. He traded buckets (and words) with White and Scanlan, while getting Chung into foul trouble in the early second quarter.

The halftime score was 30-26 Punahou, and lead changes occurred all throughout the second half, until Chung, emerging from his limited first-half minutes, sank triples on two straight Punahou possessions to put them up 57-51 with 3:49 remaining in the fourth.

"My teammates encouraging me and supporting me is what helps me not overthink missing shots early," Chung said regarding his shooter's mentality.

Some key shotmaking from Ambrozich kept Punahou from sealing the game, but the Jr. Bows still found themselves trailing 63-55 with only 55 seconds left on the clock. That's when a Trey Ambrozich scoop layup followed by a Kenna Quitan triple pulled them within three with 20 seconds left. Suddenly, it was déjà vu for Punahou fans as the scare of another late-game comeback loomed.

This time, however, Houston Hosoda and Scanan took care of business at the free throw line, and even as Ambrozich's last-second three connected, Punahou escaped with the 66-63 win.

Punahou will head into their February 3 matchup against Kamehameha Schools Kapalama as the second seed in the ILH, and a still to be determine date against Iolani that was postponed due to due to inclement weather earlier in the week. Wins in both those contests lock up the second seed, with a split assuring at least a tie for the number two spot.

"It was a tough week after losing that last game, how we lost it. (University Lab) is relentless as heck, man. It doesn't matter how much they might be down; they are going to come back. Trey stepped up big; he hit some huge shots at the end to bring them back, and they can make up a lot of points in a very short time. But I liked the way we are a lot more mature in this game; we're growing," Darren Matsuda said.