The Kahuku Red Raiders did it exactly the way they expected: together.

Using “;Together”; as a post-huddle yell to end the game's most important timeout with 5 seconds left, the Red Raiders clamped down on Mililani gunner Reginald Griffin, and Trent McKinney wound up missing a 24-footer at the buzzer as Kahuku escaped with a 64-62 win last night at Radford's Jim Alegre Gymnasium.

The win advanced Kahuku (15-10 overall) into a rematch with Moanalua, the only remaining undefeated team in the Oahu Interscholastic Association's double-elimination tournament. Should Kahuku win tomorrow's game with Moanalua, it would force a second game between the two for the tournament title on Saturday.

A win by Na Menehune in tomorrow's game at McKinley Student Council Gym gives Moanalua the championship. Tip-off is 6 p.m.

“;We've gotta get back at them,”; Kahuku guard Nehoa Akina said, recalling a regular-season loss to Moanalua. “;We've learned from our mistakes.”;

Shairone Thompson had 12 points and five boards, and Jackson Kaka added eight points and nine caroms for Kahuku, which had lost to Mililani earlier in the tournament.

Sage Kaka was a key contributor, hitting three 3-pointers in the first half to help Kahuku take a 33-28 lead at the break.

“;Fifteen (Kaka) and 10 (Samala Afalava) were on fire tonight,”; Mililani coach Ed Gonzales said of the two guards who combined for five treys.

The key scorers for both teams had off nights. Griffin shot 3-for-10 and finished with just seven points. Facing a box-and-one defense and 6-foot-2 Joe McGlamery all night, Akina also shot 3-for-10 (13 points), but swished two free throws with 18 seconds left to give his team a 63-60 lead.

After Mililani's Ed Ocampo drove the length of the court for a layup, the Trojans were within 63-62 with 13 seconds left. They trapped Akina near the sideline on the inbounds pass, and he barely got the ball to a teammate with a no-look pass over his shoulder.

Mua Malufau then hit one of his two foul shots with 6.3 seconds left to give Kahuku a 64-62 lead.

After a timeout, the Trojans passed in to Griffin, who dribbled up the right sideline and across midcourt. Facing a second defender, he gave the ball up to McKinney 10 feet beyond the arc on the left wing.

“;We forced him to dribble so he wouldn't get an easy lane,”; Akina said. “;Mua (Galeai) and Sage (Kaka) put good pressure on him.”;

Akina was there to defend, and McKinney's shot hit the backboard as time expired.

It was a tough finish for Mililani (18-7), which got 21 points and 13 rebounds from Hassan Richardson. The 6-foot-4 junior helped the Trojans rally from an early seven-point deficit. The lead changed hands 14 times in the second half.

Richardson's layup off a pass from McKinney gave the Trojans a 58-55 lead with 1:57 left, but Thompson drove for a bucket and Jackson Kaka hit two free throws to give Kahuku the lead.

Richardson was spent by then, missing two point-blank layups during that sequence. No other Trojan scored in double figures.

Mililani had beaten Kahuku 45-40 on Feb. 12.

The risk of a box-and-one was worth the reward.

“;You're gonna leave people open and not get backside rebounds,”; Gonzales said.

The battle for boards was even at 30 apiece. Mililani shot 15-for-17 from the foul line, but turned the ball over 19 times against Kahuku's fullcourt press and 2-3 zone defenses.

The Red Raiders were 18-for-22 from the foul line and had 12 giveaways. Kahuku shot 38 percent from the field (20-for-53) and Mililani shot 41 percent (22-for-54).

At Mililani

KAHUKU—Kauwe Johnson 0, Samala Afalava 6, Hans Brown 3, Mua Malufau 3, Sage Kaka 9, Nehoa Akina 13, Jackson Kaka 8, Shairone Thompson 12, K.J. Uluave 6, Mason Golden 4.

MILILANI —Forrest Garcia 2, Brandon Fujinaga 7, Josh Lenchanko 0, Nick Kunz 2, Ed Ocampo 7, Makena Kahoano 2, Reginald Griffin 7, Joe McGlamery 7, Hassan Richardson 21, Trent McKinney 7.

3-point goals—Kahuku 6 (S. Kaka 3, Afalava 2, Akina), Mililani 3 (Fujinaga, Griffin, McGlamery).

OIA white playoffs

Kailua 53, Waianae 44

Jordan Decorte scored 17 points and Ethan Mahaulu added 12 as the Surfriders defeated the Seariders.

Christian Mendonza scored 14 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead Waianae.

Kailua advances to the OIA White Championship and will face Roosevelt tomorrow.

At Waianae

KAILUA —Rhys Nakakura 8, Chevy Mikaele 3, Corey Lau 7, Luis Valenzuela 0, Ethan Mahaulu 12, Isaiah Vasconcellos 6, John Vave 0, Jordan Decorte 17.

WAIANAE —Kalin Sandoval 1, Jonovan Tuinei 3, Christian Mendonza 14, Guyson Amina 0, Michael Foster 7, Paaga Misitati 4, Anthony Niederschmidt 11, Shawn Asberry 4.

3-point goals—Kailua 2 (Nakakura). Waianae 4 (Mendonza 3, Foster).

ILH Boys

Damien 60, Maryknoll 34

Mark Baay scored a game-high 17 points, hitting three 3-pointers as the Monarchs routed the Spartans.

Masashi Uematsu scored 10 points to lead Maryknoll in a losing effort.

Damien will play at Kamehameha today at 6 p.m. in the ILH's third-place tournament.

At Damien

DAMIEN—Mark Baay 17, Nephi Tuitele 0, Tim Smith 5, Dylan Yonamine-Baysa 2, Matt Labuguen 2, Breysen Lee 7, JB Ferreira 3, Oliver Shaw 2, Tyler Tamayo 8, Jed Lim 0, Jacob Cachola 3, Lonn Iwashita 11.

MARYKNOLL—Andrew Wu 0, Masashi Uematsu 10, Craig Shoji 5, Chad Sumulong 3, Trevor Ventura 2, Isaiah Dowdell 0, Jacobe Mayer 8, A'i Cashman-Fernandez 0, Kekoa Welsh 0, Jordan Tomas 3, Nua Iuvale 3.

3-point goals—Damien 5 (Baay 3, Smith, Tamayo). Maryknoll 6 (Uematsu 2, Shoji, Sumulong, Tomas, Iuvale).

Division II

Hanalani 64, Word of Life 44

Academy of the Pacific 67, Lanakila Baptist 40

Hawaii Baptist 62, Island Pacific Academy 57

Leading scorers—Han: P.J. Minaya 17. WOL: Ryan Alverado 19. AOP: Micah Dunhour 21, David Daniels 19. LBS: Chase Hazelwood 15. HBA: Christian Morimoto 19, Jun Fritz 13, Bryan Smits 11. IPA: Theo Duplechain 15, Jackson Durrett 14, Jason Brenner 13.