Chico Furtado needed just one word to sum up the performance he had just witnessed.

“;Buzz saw,”; the Kalaheo coach exclaimed in describing Kamehameha's blowout of his Mustangs last night at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium.

Spurred by a suffocating defensive effort, top-seeded Kamehameha scored 22 unanswered points over a span bridging the first and second quarters on its way to a 67-36 rout in the Division I quarterfinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.

Playing for the first time in 11 days, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Warriors came up with 17 steals in advancing to a semifinal matchup with Kaimuki in today's 5 p.m. semifinal at Blaisdell Arena.

“;We just let the dogs loose, and they really performed and executed well,”; Kamehameha coach Jesse Nakanishi said. “;I'm so proud of these guys not letting the time off be an excuse.”;

Senior guard Pi'i Minns led a balanced Kamehameha attack with 12 points and five assists. Guard Chaz Bajet contributed three 3-pointers in the first quarter in the Warriors' tone-setting run and finished with 11 points. As a team, the Warriors shot 41 percent from the field and hit nine 3-pointers in their first game action since wrapping up the ILH season.

“;Our team couldn't wait to get out here and play,”; Minns said. “;We compete every day in practice and we just go at it.”;

Kalaheo fell into the fifth-place bracket to face Baldwin today at 1 p.m.

Kalaheo forward Matt Gasparine-Young accounted for his team's first three baskets. His second bucket drew Kalaheo to within 5-4 at the 4:26 mark of the first quarter. It would be more than 8 minutes before the Mustangs scored again.

Kamehameha, in the meantime, blitzed to a commanding lead.

The Warriors turned every Kalaheo pass into an adventure. When the Mustangs did get a look at the basket, they made six of 19 shots in the first half.

“;Our defense is our offense if we can help it,”; Nakanishi said. “;It's high-risk defense, but when it works it looks like that.”;

The left corner became a favorite spot for the Warriors as Bajet knocked down two 3-pointers from that spot, then Edmund Kamano added another just before the first-quarter buzzer to give Kamehameha a 17-4 lead.

“;Defense is what he does, but when he knocks down those open jumpers he's tough,”; Nakanishi said.

The points kept flowing for the Warriors as the turnovers mounted for Kalaheo. The Mustangs gave the ball away 15 times in the first half, with the Warriors credited with 13 steals.

“;You know what to expect, its hard to simulate the pressure in practice,”; Furtado said. “;It's just massive pressure and too many turnovers. On top of that it was just an exceptional shooting night.

“;We were hoping they were a little rusty with the long layoff, but obviously that wasn't the case.”;

Kaimuki 64, Baldwin 51

Ryan Kakitani's outside shooting in the first half and Desmond Tautofi's dominance inside in the second powered the Bulldogs into the semifinals.

Kakitani hit four of his five 3-pointers during a 14-0 first-quarter run that gave Kaimuki command of the game, and the Bulldogs took a 30-15 lead into halftime. Tautofi took over after the break, scoring 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half.

Baldwin guard Lincoln Seto scored a game-high 22 points for the fourth-seeded Bears.