For once, the Kahuku Red Raiders turned the tables on their old friends from 'Iolani.

Kahuku guard Nehoa Akina swished a 3-point bomb from the corner with 13 seconds to go, and center Kona Schwenke drew a charging foul from Pablo Warner with 3.8 seconds left as the second-seeded Red Raiders edged 'Iolani 56-53 last night in the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball Division I State Championships at Blaisdell Arena.

Kahuku (24-2), the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion, will take on top-seeded Kamehameha tonight in the final at Blaisdell.

Warner, who led 'Iolani (22-6) with 17 points, disputed the charging call.

“;I didn't hit him that hard, so I don't know why he fell down,”; the 6-foot-3 senior said.

Akina's shot was pivotal for a Kahuku squad that was clearly on the ropes.

“;My dad said this is where we want to be,”; Akina said of Kahuku coach Hiram Akina.

'Iolani shot just 17-for-33 from the foul line and only 2-for-19 from the 3-point arc. Kahuku won despite committing 32 turnovers. 'Iolani made only 11. But it was Kahuku's ability to hit clutch shots and draw charging fouls—something 'Iolani practiced for 30 minutes a day in preseason—that was most notable.

The final minute was a series of momentum-shifting plays on both ends of the floor. 'Iolani rallied from a 13-point deficit with a swarming fullcourt press. The Raiders were down 52-41 after Akina scored on a fast-break layup with 4:25 remaining.

Kahuku spread the floor from that point and struggled against 'Iolani's bread-and-butter halfcourt traps. Kainoa Chu nailed a 3-pointer and Warner scored five points, including a free throw that gave the Raiders a 53-52 edge—'Iolani's first lead of the game—with 35 seconds left.

Kahuku's 12 fourth-quarter turnovers silenced a vocal following of red-clad fans, but Akina had the remedy. Irwin Ah-Hoy sent his inbounds pass to Akina, who was wide open in the left corner for the 3-pointer.

After two 'Iolani timeouts, Reid Saito penetrated from halfcourt to the left elbow, then fed Warner on the baseline. Warner passed up the open 10-footer and drove, but Schwenke was waiting.

“;I was tempted to try to block his shot, but the way he was driving in, I just stepped in,”; the 6-4 junior said.

That gave Kahuku the ball, but after a timeout, the Red Raiders were whistled for a violation when they passed the ball sideways from their inbounds man to a teammate who stepped out for a “;double pass”; play.

With 3.8 seconds left, 'Iolani got the ball in to Saito, who was short on a 10-footer from the left side. Schwenke rebounded and was fouled with three-tenths of a second left. He made the first of his 1-and-1 free throws for a three-point Kahuku lead. 'Iolani's Kela Marciel rebounded the miss and launched a fullcourt bomb that would have counted, but missed off the top of the backboard.