Kalaheo used an 8-1 scoring advantage in the fourth period to propel the Stangs to a 38-34 victory over McKinley, forcing a winner-take-all game for the OIA Red Division title and a seeded berth in next week's HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.

Head coach Alika Smith spoke about Kalaheo's defensive effort in the fourth. "I told our kids to dig down deep, make one defensive stop at a time. We make one (stop) down here, we get a good shot down there and we're going to be in good position."

And the Mustangs did just that, holding the Tigers to just a free throw by Justly Laquihon at 3:56 mark and a three-pointer, also by Laquihon, just as time-expired.

Offensively, Kalaheo seemed to benefit from the size advantage Nainoa Frank had in the post.

"For him (Nainoa Frank), he stayed out of foul trouble." said Smith. "So we got a chance to get it inside to him and let him take care of business down there."

Frank responded by producing 8 points working on the low block, but more importantly, freed up some space for Kalaheo's outside threats to operate.

The 6-foot-7 junior remarked, "Coach was saying, give it inside, keep on giving it inside, we can open up outside."

Shem Sukumran and backcourt mate Josh Ko were the biggest recipients of the inside-out strategy, with Sukumaran hitting for 13 points, 9 of those coming from distance and Ko adding 10 points, with six of those via the three-pointer.

McKinley's Alex Ironside had 9 points in the loss.

The two teams will face-off for a third time in this year's playoffs on Saturday at Radford's James Alegre Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

---