Even with a double-digit lead in the final period, there was no sense of ease for 'Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi.

But 'Iolani's balance was ultimately able to counter the scoring power of Mid-Pacific swingman Marcus Holyfield and the second-ranked Raiders emerged with a 58-45 home win over the Owls last night.

Holyfield scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the first half for the ninth-ranked Owls, who cut a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to five with 4:25 left in the game.

But the Raiders went on an 11-0 run in the final 1:50 to improve to 2-0 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play.

“;They're well-coached, they have arguably the best player in the state, so it's hard to feel safe,”; Mugiishi said. “;We were able to take care of the ball at the end and hit some free throws.”;

Forward Jarrett Arakawa and guard Kainoa Chu had 12 points each to pace 'Iolani, which pressured the Owls into turnovers to build and maintain control for most of the night, although Mid-Pacific was able to stay within striking distance.

“;They stick with their press. At times it got us flustered and we had turnovers here and there and that was the difference,”; Mid-Pacific coach Nate Hu said. “;We were ready for it; we just didn't execute as well as we should have.”;

After Holyfield drained a 3-pointer from the top to give Mid-Pacific a 7-6 lead in the first quarter, Iolani took off on a 13-2 run and opened up a double- digit cushion when Andrew Skalman hit a trey from the corner early in the second quarter.

The Raiders led 28-20 at halftime and stretched the lead to 13 early in the fourth quarter when Chu hit his second 3-pointer of the game and Kela Marciel converted a steal into a breakaway layup to put 'Iolani up 47-34 with 6:30 left in the contest.

But a driving layup by Holyfield sparked an 8-0 Mid-Pacific run as the Owls raised the tension in the gym when Matthew Reyes' layup off an assist from Cameron Roberts cut the gap to 47-42 with 4:25 left.

“;They did a nice job of attacking (the press),”; Mugiishi said. “;(MPI) had turnovers in the first half, but when they made their run they got some easy buckets.”;

The Owls had their chances to further cut into the deficit, but couldn't score again until the final buzzer.

Holyfield missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:53 left and 'Iolani's Trevyn Tulonghari was fouled on the rebound. He made both free throws as the Raiders scored 11 unanswered points, seven coming from the line, to seal the win heading into a Tuesday showdown with top-ranked Kamehameha.

“;They've got talent across the board and they're well-coached,”; Hu said of 'Iolani. “;Everybody comes in and knows their roles.”;

No. 4 Punahou 63, Damien 40

The Buffanblu overpowered the Monarchs throughout the game, scoring 18 points in the first and final quarters.

Eleven players got on the board for Punahou, led by Malik Johnson's game-high 12 points.

Tim Smith and Tyler Tamayo had seven apiece for Damien.