'Iolani earned a bit of redemption in its last meeting with Punahou.

The payoff in winning last night's rematch was far greater.

The top-ranked Raiders clinched a berth in the state tournament and earned a shot at the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship by rallying past the host Buffanblu 49-43 last night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Trailing 35-30 after three quarters, the Raiders (11-2) opened the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run and held off the Buffanblu to set up a meeting with No. 3 Kamehameha for the ILH title tonight at 6:30 on their home floor.

“;Can't ask for anything more than that,”; 'Iolani head coach Dean Shimamoto said.

'Iolani guard Kainoa Chu, who scored 21 points and made the game-winning shot in last week's 42-41 win at 'Iolani, had just one field goal in the second half but made six free throws to lead 'Iolani with 13 points. Trevyn Tulonghari came off the bench to score eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a layup that gave 'Iolani the lead for good with 5:24 left in the game.

But 'Iolani's victory was keyed on the defensive end, as the Raiders held Punahou scoreless from the 1:15 mark of the third quarter to the 2:20 point of the fourth.

“;We had to lock it down,”; Chu said. “;We played as brothers and we had to back each other up, especially in a hostile environment like this. We had to play for each other.”;

Punahou (10-3) fed 6-foot-7 Deforest Buckner in the post and the sophomore responded with a game-high 15 points, while 6-6 classmate Malik Johnson had 11.

But getting the ball to their weapons proved to be a challenge in the fourth quarter as 'Iolani caught and passed the Buffanblu, which beat 'Iolani 46-31 in their first meeting of the ILH season.

“;Turnovers don't help,”; Punahou coach Alika Smith said. “;We turned the ball over maybe five consecutive times. You have to give them credit; they put defensive pressure on them and they did the job.”;

'Iolani led 26-21 early in the third quarter when the Buffanblu took off on a 10-0 run. Buckner provided the last six points, including a dunk off a feed from Matt Feldman that gave Punahou a 27-26 lead.

But Punahou's offense dried up after Johnson's putback pushed Punahou ahead 35-30.

Tulonghari drove to the basket for a layup to begin 'Iolani decisive fourth-quarter run and his putback at the 4:43 mark gave the Raiders a 38-35 advantage.

Punahou was without guard Taylor Crabb, who is out for the season after tearing ligaments in his ankle in the last meeting with 'Iolani.

“;We definitely knew it wasn't going to be easy, even though they didn't have one of their big guns,”; Shimamoto said. “;We knew we had to come in and fight and knew it was going to come down to the end and come down to free throws.”;

ILH playoff scenario

Even with last night's loss, Punahou can still take the long way into the state tournament.

» If Kamehameha loses tonight, Punahou will play the Warriors for the league's second seed on Monday.

» If Kamehameha wins, Punahou plays in the ILH's third-place tournament next week. The winner of that tournament plays the Big Island Interscholastic Federation's third-place team for a state tournament berth.

'IOLANI — Andrew Skalman 8, Ammon Baldomero 0, Reid Saito 0, Jarrett Arakawa 8, Josiah Sukumaran 2, Kainoa Chu 13, Trevyn Tulonghari 10, Kainoa Scheer 2, Jourdan Simmonds 0, John Foy 2, Gabriel Vega 4.
PUNAHOU — Sean McFadden 9, Henry Cassidy 2, Matt Feldman 5, James Dowsett 1, JK Duncan 0, Malik Johnson 11, KT Tuumalo 0, Deforest Buckner 15, Kaiwi Crabb 0.
3-point goals — 'Iolani 2 (Arakawa, Chu), Punahou 1 (Feldman).