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Kamehameha-Hawai'i's guard tandem of sophomore Shaun Kagawa and junior Lanaki Apele combined for 31 points last night as the Warriors rallied past Punahou, 63-54, in the Saint Francis Merv Lopes Hoops Classic semifinals.

Kamehameha-Hawai'i will face Kailua in tonight's 7:30 p.m. championship game at Manoa Valley District Park gym.

Punahou had held off the Warriors, 52-46, in its own tournament last week, but let a seven-point lead slip away late in the first half last night and watched Kamehameha-Hawai'i carry that momentum into the final two periods.

"We didn't want to lose this time, so we came out hard in the second half," said Apele, a 5-foot-11 point who finished with 15 points, including 9 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter. "Last time, we didn't finish the game, that was our problem."

The Buffanblu led 17-10 after last night's first quarter and 21-14 midway through the second, but Kagawa's accidental bank shot with 3:15 remaining started the Warriors on an 8-0 run to end the half. Jayce Carvalho's steal and layup closed the lead to 21-20 with 25 seconds left, and Apele swished a high-arching fadaway from about 15 feet out with two ticks remaining.

"I think when Lanaki made that shot just before halftime, it really gave us a boost, and we carried that confidence into the second half," said Kamehameha-Hawai'i coach Dominic Pacheco.

Kagawa's free throw midway through the third period capped a 7-1 run that opened the lead to 31-24, and Carvalho sank two more foul shots with 1:20 left to put the Warriors ahead, 36-28, entering the fourth.

Kamehameha-Hawai'i then denied any comeback attempt by the Buffanblu by sinking 17 of 20 free throws (85 percent) in the final eight minutes.

"Last time we were 7 of 19 from the line, so tonight we did a good job of finishing," Pacheco said.

Punahou made just 7 of 22 free throws for the game, and its comeback attempt was further hampered when starting post DeForest Buckner fouled out with 6:30 remaining and starting point guard Patrick O'Neill followed him to the bench less than a minute later.

The Buffanblu could not close the eight-point gap in the fourth quarter.

"I think we needed that game last week, to see what Punahou brings," Pacheco said. "We needed to adjust to their height -- we had layups, but we missed. Tonight we made the adjustment and made our layups. I'm glad we had another opportunity to climb the ladder, and this is a great win for our program. But we still haven't started our regular season, so we still have a long way to go."

Kagawa, a 5-11 shooting guard, finished with a game-high 16 points and Carvalho, a 6-4 junior forward, added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Buckner and Johnson led the Buffanblu with 12 points each and Johnson added a game-high 11 rebounds.

KAILUA 48, KAMEHAMEHA II 46

Kila Zuttermeister sank two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to break a 46-46 tie, and Micah Pimental's Hail Mary three-quarters-court shot at the buzzer glanced off the rim as the Surfriders held off the Warriors.

Zuttermeister and Rhys Nakakura each finished with 11 points to lead Kailua.


YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

CONSOLATION  BRACKET

Kahuku 91, Castle 64

Kahuku: Shairone Thompson, 26 pts. 10 reb.
Castle: Josh Kong, 15 pts.

Kapolei 40, Christian Academy 23

Kapolei: Devyn Knight, 14 pts.
Christian Academy: Jason Ocol, 8pts.

Farrington 60, Kalaheo 48

Farrington: Viane Vaina, 19 pts.
Kalaheo: Shem Sukumaran, 19 pts.

Saint Louis 50, St. Francis 41

Saint Louis: Acen Cabral, 15 pts.
Saint Francis: Austin Ursua 15 pts.

Damien 42, Houston (Alaska) 37

Damien: Lonn Iwashita, 20 pts.
Houston: Beau Frank, 12 pts.

Leilehua 65, Pearl City 41

Leilehua: Trenton Morales, 10 pts.
Pearl City: Kailon Sabate, 10 pts.


TODAY'S SCHEDULE

9:30 a.m. - Kapolei vs. Kahuku
11 a.m. - Saint Francis vs. Kalaheo
12:30 p.m. - Houston (Alaska) vs. Pearl City
2 p.m. - Saint Louis vs. Farrington, Consolation Championship (new gym)
2 p.m. - Leilehua vs. Damien, Fifth place
3:30 p.m. - Kamehameha II vs. Punahou, Third Place
5 p.m. - 3-point shooting contest and awards
7:30 p.m. - Kamehameha-Hawai'i vs. Kailua, Championship