It must be nice to have an airborne unit to go with a potent power attack down low.

Gabriel Stietzel and Ryan Kakitani kept Kaimuki close with long-range bombs, and the Bulldogs blew open a tight game in the final quarter for a 76-60 win over Keaau in the opening round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball Division I State Championships.

Stietzel and Kakitani combined to shoot 8-for-12 from 3-point range for the Bulldogs. Kakitani finished with 16 points and Stietzel 15.

Keaau collapsed around Desmond Tautofi, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound junior, but he still finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. David Taulung added 17 points, six assists and four steals.

A crowd of about 500 at McKinley Student Council Gym saw Kaimuki, the Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up, advance to the quarterfinals. Kaimuki will face fourth-seeded Baldwin in a 5 p.m. game today at McKinley.

“;I'm relieved that we won. It's always scary playing the opening game,”; Kaimuki coach Kelly Grant said.

Keaau's young squad battled closely for three quarters under first-year head coach Wade Aukai Ishibashi, son of Wade Ishibashi Sr., who died of cancer before the season.

“;We came a long way. Keaau hasn't been here in seven or eight years,”; Ishibashi said. “;Kaimuki came out on fire. That's one of the best shooting teams I've seen in awhile.”;

The Bulldogs got balanced scoring, a big plus on a night when Tautofi sat key minutes with foul trouble. With Tautofi on the bench for almost all of the third quarter, the Cougars made a run and took a 37-31 lead after Daniel Brooks twice scored inside during an 11-5 run.

“;I was worried we weren't going to turn the switch on,”; Grant said.

Kaimuki responded with a torrent of treys. Taulung hit from the top and Stietzel twice from the left corner in a 9-0 run to take the lead.

Keaau scored the next seven points to regain the lead, 47-43, shortly before the end of the third quarter. However, Stietzel drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the 'Dogs a 48-47 lead, igniting a 19-4 run.

Tautofi returned and scored six points during the blitz. Taulung, a senior guard, found some success against Keaau's tough man-to-man defense, and scored six points of his own during the run. His three-point play on a baseline drive gave Kaimuki a 67-51 lead with 2:53 to go.

Makana Cazimero scored 14 points, including eight in the second quarter on penetration through the middle of Kaimuki's 2-3 zone, to lead Keaau (17-8).

Mtume Msikizi-Jackson, a center, is one of only two seniors on the Keaau roster.

“;We tried to take (Tautofi) out of the picture by fronting him,”; Msikizi-Jackson.

Tautofi had just six points in the first half. He shot 8-for-11 from the field and found open teammates fairly well when the double-teams came.

Kalaheo 62, Radford 36

The two OIA foes met for a third time this season with the same result: a Kalaheo victory. Matt Gasparine-Young had 21 points and 10 boards, while Aaron Fernandez (12 points) and Christian Kepa (11) helped the Mustangs (19-9) reach the quarterfinals.

Radford (17-10) was in striking distance, down 31-21 at halftime, but Kalaheo's matchup zone proved too difficult to solve. Fernandez, a 6-3 junior, swarmed to Radford sharpshooter Quentin Kimura constantly. That left the Rams with few other scoring options.

Radford shot 28 percent from the field (14-for-51) to Kalaheo's 47 percent (21-for-45).