JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Keone Reyes, right, hugged Kaimuki teammate Kamahoi Cookman after last night's victory.

OIA sweeps hoops titles

Reyes and big Beau lead ’Dogs past Buffs

Keone Reyes scored 21 points and Beau Albrechtson pulled down 16 rebounds as Kaimuki stunned Punahou 61-53 last night to capture the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball Division I State Championship.

A frenzied crowd of 6,516 at the Stan Sheriff Center saw Kaimuki (26-8) capture its second state title -- the first since Raymond Fujino's Bulldogs won the crown in 1993.

"I knew our team had all the confidence coming into the game," said Reyes, the tournament's most valuable player. "That's all we needed. We gotta thank God first. He's the almighty. He helped us pull through."

Reyes, in foul trouble for a long stretch, came through in the final quarter with six key points. The 6-foot-1, 255-pound senior shot 10-for-11 from the foul line, and Albrechtson was a flawless 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.

"Coach (Kelly Grant) tells us to shoot 100 free throws at the end of every practice. But I only shoot 60 or so," Albrechtson admitted. "I feel bad for Punahou in a way, but through our bumpy season, we went through more. Losing to Roosevelt. Getting pounded by Kalaheo twice."

Daniel Colon and Brandon Madamba gave the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Bulldogs steady play in the backcourt against Punahou's relentless 1-3-1 fullcourt traps. Colon finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and Madamba's ballhandling and speed neutralized Punahou's defense much of the night.

"We told Brandon, 'If you don't score, that's fine. Just limit your turnovers'," Grant said of Kaimuki's press-breaker. "We made sure we always had one guy behind the ball."

Colon was a vital cog.

"We drove, drew the traps and their defense came all the way over to one side," Colon said. "They kept trapping us, but we found open teammates. They probably thought we'd buckle."

Miah Ostrowski and Spencer McLachlin, Punahou's stellar seniors, had 14 points each for the Buffanblu. McLachlin had a team-high eight rebounds.

"They've been playing unbelievable basketball, and they absolutely deserve this," Punahou coach Dan Hale said. "They are the best team in the state. My hat's off to them. We fought for everything we could get and just came up short. Those two guys (Reyes and Beau), they're awesome."

Kaimuki turned to its reserves and unheralded low posts to make a key second-half run. Sparked by the trio of Colon, Albrechtson and Reyes, the Bulldogs took a 48-36 lead with 3:44 left.

Punahou missed five 3-point tries in a row, but the Buffanblu refused to quit. Kimo Makaula scored on a layup, and Ostrowski turned a steal into a bucket. After Ostrowski drove for a tough 10-foot bank shot in traffic, Punahou was within 51-44 with 2:05 left.

However, the Buffs went cold from the field, missing point-blank shots underneath, while Albrechtson and Reyes sank free throws to give Kaimuki a 55-44 lead.

Ostrowski fouled out with 1:13 left, dimming Punahou's chances down the stretch.

Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Punahou (24-5) committed only seven turnovers, but shot just 36 percent (21-for-59) against Kaimuki's triangle-and-two matchup zone. Kaimuki shot 46 percent (19-for-41) from the field and outrebounded Punahou 40-22.

Using the 1-3-1, the Buffanblu took control of the game early. Ostrowski and McLachlin each drilled 3-pointers, and Kameron Steinhoff's power move in the low post gave Punahou a 12-4 lead midway through the opening quarter.

Undeterred by a 6-inch height disadvantage, Reyes went to work under the glass against McLachlin while Colon warmed up. The senior guard hit two driving buckets, including one with a pretty finger-roll, to spark a pivotal Bulldogs run.

Makalii Nahinu's baseline jumper gave Kaimuki its first lead, 19-18, early in the second quarter. After Reyes hit an 18-footer from the top, Kaimuki led 24-20 midway through the second.

That's when foul trouble struck the Bulldogs. Reyes went to the bench with his third foul with 2:43 left in the half.

In the meantime, Punahou went on a 6-0 run.

Albrechtson let fly a 3-point shot from halfcourt, but was fouled by Ostrowski with just 1 second left. Officials ruled that Albrechtson was not attempting a shot.

Unhappy with some of the officiating, Grant needed much of the intermission to cool down.

"I was really lucky we had that long halftime. I stayed in the hallway to cool myself down," he said. "I was almost expecting the guys to complain about the refs, but they talked about sticking together as a team before I even got in the locker room."

The tables turned in the third quarter when Steinhoff drove to the paint strong and was whistled for charging fouls. Kaimuki, which didn't start Reyes in the second half, used JV callup Desmond Tautofi in the rotation. While Reyes sat on the bench for stretches of the second and third quarters, Kaimuki outscored Punahou 10-7.

Chauncey Nicola's easy bucket on an inbounds pass gave Kaimuki a 34-30 lead with 5:01 left in the third quarter.

Reyes returned to the game, but lasted just 2 minutes before committing his fourth foul while trying to steal the ball on the sideline. Kaimuki, up 38-35 when Reyes sat down again, got two foul shots from Albrechtson. Nahinu then delivered an alley-oop pass to the 6-4 senior for an easy deuce as the Bulldogs took a 42-35 lead with 5:28 left in the game.

Tautofi drove the paint for layup in traffic and Kaimuki took a 44-35 lead with 4:50 to go.

Steinhoff countered with a foul shot, but Colon hit a 16-footer from the right elbow after breaking the press, and Reyes hit a layup on a feed down low from Colon. That capped a 13-3 run and pushed Kaimuki's lead to 48-36.

Punahou got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

"It is tough (to see seniors go out like this), but they battled to the end, they fought hard and did everything I ever asked them to," Hale said. "I'm just so proud of those guys (Miah and Spencer) and they can hold their heads up high."