AOP overcame a sluggish start to put on a defensive clinic after the intermission, as the Dolphins held the Chargers to just eight second-half points to win going away, 46-26, in the opening round of the Hawaiian Airlines Division I Boys Basketball Championships.

Kamana Keohouhou scored the first five points for the 'Phins and finished with a game-high 14, providing a much needed offensive spark for AOP in the first half.

"He (Keohouhou) has been our point guard all year, and we moved Drew (Viena) to the point a little bit, which allowed Mana some open shots." said head coach Wally Maricel.

Pearl City would stay close in the first period, trailing by only three, and would close to 13-12 early in the second, but would never lead, heading into the locker room at halftime down 24-18.

A much different AOP squad would emerge in the second-half, locking down Pearl City with a variety of defensive sets that would hold the Chargers scoreless until the 1:09 mark in the third.

Said Marciel, "We mixed it up with some zones and man-to-man... Pearl City is a quick team, and we felt that for them to win the game they gotta shoot the ball from the outside."

Marc Suniga would lead the Chargers with 8 points in the game, all of them coming in the first half. Leading scorer Kailon Sabate was held to just four points.

Midway through the third period, AOP guard/forward Artur Mkrtychyan went down with an apparent wrist injury and did not return.

Next up for AOP is fourth-seed Kamehameha-Hawaii in the 5:00 p.m. quarterfinal at Radford. The game will be televised live on OC16.

---