FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Iolani's Kawika Shoji went up for a shot in a crowd and drew a foul during yesterday's 56-31 win over Baldwin.

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Hoerner leads
Fullerton

Birthday week for the tallest 18-year-old in the islands is going swell.

Brett Hoerner pumped in 19 points as Fullerton Union (Calif.) outlasted Leilehua 50-37 yesterday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Punahou Holiday Classic.

Fullerton, the 2002 tourney champion, will meet Iolani in the semifinals today.

Hoerner, a 7-foot senior, turned 18 on Monday. His birthday present from Leilehua was a physical front line that made him earn every point and rebound. His counterpart, Clayton Laurel, leaned on the wiry Hoerner all game long.

Laurel, at 6-2 with a wide frame, scored 12 points. Point guard Anthony Palomares led the way with 13.

"I told the kids before the game, we gotta attack him," longtime Mules coach Keith Spencer said of Hoerner. "We weren't intimidated at all. Clayton did a helluva job. It's real promising to see him do well."

Grant Meyer, a 6-7 senior, added 15 points for Fullerton Union (10-2). The Indians are a different team than the one that won the title two seasons ago.

"Brett's definitely a lot better, and he's better than anyone we had on that team," coach Bill Czech said. "Meyer is really steady, poised. (Michael) Markin and our point guard, (Jesse) Hernandez, have been steady. But it's hard to say this team is better than the other one."

Fullerton will face two-time Hawaii state champion Iolani at 6 p.m. today. Czech compares the Raiders to a couple of Indian opponents.

"Gary (High School) was real athletic, and Mission Viejo was tall and unbelievably athletic," he said. Fullerton beat Mission Viejo and lost to Gary.

Leilehua gave the Indians all they could handle.

"Leilehua played really hard. They have strong kids. I wouldn't want to play football against them," Czech said.

Fullerton had a single-digit lead for most of the game, unable to put the Mules away. It was a big step forward for Leilehua, which had struggled in tournaments at Campbell and Radford.

"It's our second full week with everybody," Spencer said. Several of the Mules played on the football team, which reached the finals of the state championships.

"We had some mental breakdowns, some effort breakdowns, but overall, I'm real happy. We've made some strides," Spencer said.

The Mules have enough height and athleticism to be a defensive force. That will be important since they haven't shown signs of scoring consistently from the perimeter. Palomares, who normally plays the 2 or 3, has stepped in at the point in the absence of Kennedy Orteza.

Orteza, a junior, suffered a knee injury during football season and will have an MRI done today.

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Iolani 56, Baldwin 31

The Bears stayed close for nearly a half, but in the end, they suffered their second loss to Iolani in three weeks.

Kyle Pape pumped in 20 points and Kawika Shoji added 10 as the Raiders advanced to the semifinals. Vinny Nip added eight for the Raiders, who are ranked No. 1 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.

Cody Nakamura, a 6-1 forward, hustled for 12 points on the low post. Trenson Himalaya added 10 points, also in the paint. No other Bear scored more than two points.

It was not quite the blowout that Baldwin endured against Iolani at the Saint Anthony Invitational three weeks ago, when the Bears fell behind by 38 points at halftime.

This time around, they led 6-3 and seemed to have a grasp of how to handle Iolani's defensive pressure. However, the Bears committed six turnovers in the last 4 minutes of the first quarter. Iolani got 3-point bombs from Pape and reserve guard Ryan Dung to take an 11-6 lead into the second quarter. By the time Pape hit a trey from the top and Dung drilled a 3-ball from the left corner, the Raiders led 19-7 with 4:39 to play in the second.

Baldwin pulled within six on back-to-back baskets by Nakamura, but Iolani gradually pulled away.

"We missed I don't know how many shots underneath," Baldwin coach Wayne Gushiken said. "A lot of that had to do with Iolani's defense. We were successful in breaking the full-court pressure, but the on-ball pressure took a toll on us."

"Even after they broke our press, our rotation was there," Iolani point guard Barry Kang said. "So they didn't get layups."

University 45, Damien 36

David Johnson scored 13 third-quarter points, including nine during a 15-2 run, as the Junior Rainbows raced past the Monarchs in a quarterfinal battle.

Johnson, a 6-foot senior, finished with 23 points for eighth-ranked University. The Jr. 'Bows broke the game open with their third-quarter run. Johnson sank three consecutive 3-pointers and Mike Tenorio led an airtight man defense.

University led 32-19 after Tenorio turned a steal into two free throws. Damien got no closer than eight the rest of the way.

Devin Shiroma led Damien (5-4) with 10 points. The Monarchs upset No. 9-ranked Radford in the opening round, but University's ability to lock down on defense proved insurmountable.

"It's the story of our preseason. We're much better in the second half," University coach Walter Quitan said.

Punahou 56, Kealakehe 41

Jeremiah Ostrowski poured in 22 points as the Buffanblu outlasted the Waveriders. Spencer McLachlin added 14 points for Punahou (9-5), ranked No. 2 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.

"He's a joy to watch," Kealakehe coach Brian Boshard said of Ostrowski, a sophomore guard. "The boy can flat-out shoot. This was the kind of game we needed, gives us a little more to work on at practice."

Ioane Spencer, a 6-5 center, led Kealakehe with 20 points. Loa Patao, a senior guard, added 16. Kealakehe led 6-5 at the end of the first quarter before Punahou gained momentum in the second quarter. McLachlin, a 6-5 sophomore, scored on a pair of follow shots and a 3-pointer to help the Buffanblu go on an 18-5 run. Punahou's biggest lead was 42-26 midway through the third quarter.

Kealakehe (4-4) hit the boards hard, but found the going tough from the perimeter. The Waveriders got no closer than nine the rest of the way, unable to take advantage of Punahou's sometimes sketchy shot selection.

Consolation

Farrington 47, Punahou II 35

John Carlos scored 11 points and Micah Kalingo added 10 as the Governors downed the Division II Buffanblu. J.C. Wo paced Punahou with nine points.

Kalaheo 57, Kailua 34

Senior David Moore poured in 25 points as the Mustangs routed their neighborhood rivals. Tate Brown added 12 for Kalaheo in a game that got overly physical in the late going.

Tyler Harrison led Kailua with 14 points.

Mililani 46, Radford 44

Ken Moses scored 18 points and Scott Neumann tallied nine as the Trojans edged the Rams. William Kerins had 11 points and Tedy Tyler added 10 for Radford, which is ranked ninth in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.

Moanalua 49, Kaiser 34

Wayne West scored 21 points and Zachary Pendergast chipped in with 13 to lead the Menehunes over Oahu Interscholastic Association East foe Kaiser.

Jeff Peters led the Cougars with 16 points.