Down by a point with little more than a minute remaining, the brain trust and brawn of 'Iolani basketball agreed about one thing.

The Raiders got damn lucky. A fluke turnover by the visiting Punahou Buffanblu led to a Pablo Warner layup with 13 seconds left, and No. 1 'Iolani hung on for a thrilling 41-40 win last night in a key Interscholastic League of Honolulu matchup.

A near-capacity crowd at 'Iolani saw the Raiders (14-3) remain unbeaten in league play at 4-0. Punahou (9-6) slipped to 2-2 in the ILH and saw its chances of a regular-season title—and automatic state berth—dwindle significantly.

The two teams shot almost identically: Punahou at 40 percent (17-for-43) and 'Iolani at 38 percent (16-for-42). They were also dead even on the boards with 23 rebounds each. The Raiders had more turnovers (17) than baskets and still won.

“;We just consider ourselves fortunate,”; Raiders coach Mark Mugiishi said. “;It hurts us a little that we let them control the tempo. Playing in the low 40s is not good for our internal clocks.”;

“;I'm not gonna lie. It was luck for a lot of it,”; said Warner, who led 'Iolani with 11 points and four rebounds on a night that belonged to Punahou, for a half at least.

Punahou's man defense was extremely quick and tough, but 'Iolani's steady lineup was a factor.

“; 'Iolani's a good team and they hit shots down the stretch when they needed them,”; Punahou coach Dan Hale said.

Taylor Crabb had 12 points and five boards for fourth-ranked Punahou. Kainoa Gaddis added 11 points and seven caroms, and Henry Cassiday tallied eight points, seven steals and four boards.

After trailing 29-21 early in the second half, 'Iolani clamped down defensively. The Raiders rallied to take the lead early in the fourth quarter—their first lead since the second quarter—on Kainoa Chu's drive through the middle.

Crabb came through with a pair of 3-pointers, both on pump fakes and a single dribble to his left. The first tied the game at 37-all with 1:49 left.

That ended a long span of futility for the Buffanblu, who scored only three points in a span of 12 minutes and 19 seconds of the second half.

Crabb's next trey gave Punahou a 40-39 lead with 34 seconds to go. What followed could've easily led to a big Punahou win.

Instead, the Raiders received a gift. 'Iolani guard Kela Marciel lost the ball after crossing midcourt, and Punahou's Dalton Hilliard swiped it away. Though he had a teammate open downcourt, Hilliard didn't see him and instead dribbled sideways to the opposite sideline.

“;We were trying to foul him,”; Mugiishi said. “;But he's so fast, we couldn't.”;

Hilliard wound up losing control of the ball and tried to save it by flipping it to midcourt before he stepped out of bounds. The ball fell to the Raiders' Jarrett Arakawa, who passed to Marciel, who then found Chu open on the left wing.

“;I just saw his hair, his wild hair,”; Chu said of Warner. “;I got it to him.”;

Warner was wide open under the basket and gave the Raiders a 41-40 lead with 13 seconds left.

Punahou inbounded and raced upcourt, where guard Matt Feldman missed a shot in traffic near the low post, with Warner trying to draw a charge. 'Iolani regained possession with 2.3 seconds left.

Arakawa had difficulty inbounding the ball and called timeout, drawing the ire of Hale, who insisted that the 4-second maximum (to call timeout) had lapsed.

Crabb intercepted the ensuing inbounds pass downcourt and called timeout with 1.1 seconds left. On the next play, however, Punahou couldn't get a shot off in time as Arakawa got in Hilliard's way on the left wing.

“;We got a little tired,”; Hale said. “;Give 'Iolani credit. They keep coming at you.”;

ILH GIRLS

No. 2 Punahou 40, No. 7 Kamehameha 39

The Warriors had poor second and third quarters, totaling 11 points, in their loss to the Buffanblu.

  Janelle Nomura and Tressa Torres led Punahou with nine points each.

No. 5 'Iolani 51, No. 9 Sacred Hearts 49

The Raiders' two-point lead at the end of the first quarter proved vital in their win over the Lancers. 'Iolani and Sacred Hearts each scored 11 points in the second quarter and had an equal number of points in the second half, making the first-quarter points the decisive ones.

Lahela Usui led 'Iolani with 14 points, nine of which came from behind the arc.

Rayna Munos had the hot hand for Sacred Hearts, knocking in four from 3-point range, with 14 points on the night.