One down for the Warriors. Next up, Mid-Pacific.

Frank Ho scored 18 points and Micah Christenson added 17 to lead third-ranked Kamehameha over Damien 75-41 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu playoff tournament last night at Kekuhaupio Gym.

The Warriors led by nine at halftime, then caught fire after the break.

“;We really picked up the pace in the second half,”; said Kamehameha coach Jesse Nakanishi.

Ho, who went 5-for-6 from 3-point range, hit three treys in the third quarter. The onslaught overwhelmed the Monarchs and allowed Nakanishi to rest some of his big guns for tonight's matchup against Mid-Pacific in the final of the ILH third-place tourney.

Sharpshooting Dyrbe Enos sat for most of the second half, and Nakanishi subbed out Christenson with about 2 minutes left in the third quarter.

The winner of tonight's game clinches third place in the ILH and takes on Honokaa on the Big Island on Saturday. The winner of that play-in game will punch its ticket to the state tournament, claiming the final Division I berth.

The resilience of Kamehameha (21-6) is being tested after Monday's loss to No. 2 Punahou, but Nakanishi feels good about the way his team has refocused.

“;We had a good talk after we got back (on Monday),”; Nakanishi said. “;We re-set our goals. Tuesday's practice helped to reconfigure our mentality.

“;Hopefully, we now have now a seven-game run to the title.”;

With the stakes raised, Nakanishi is hoping his charges come out firing tonight.

“;We're looking for a better start tomorrow,”; he said. “;But Mid-Pacific's played us close the last two games, and then if we get past them, we have to travel to Honokaa. We're just taking it one game at a time.”;

DAMIEN — Mark Baay 8, Nephi Tuitele 0, Dylan Yonamine-Baysay 0, Matt Labaguen 6, Tyler Tamayo 7, Jacob Cachola 6, Lonn Iwashita 0, Tim Smith 5, Breysen Lee 6, JB Ferreira 0, Oliver Shaw 3, Jed Lim 0.
KAMEHAMEHA — Chris Bright 3, Shane Matayoshi 2, Frank Ho 18, Micah Christenson 17, Branden Orpillia 5, Brent Auyong 0, Davis Achong 8, Devin Kuhns 6, Charlton Tang 9, Dyrbe Enos 3, Shane Yoshida 4.
3-point goals — Damien 3 (Baay 1, Smith 1, Tamayo 1). Kamehameha (Ho 5, Bright, Chris, Orpillia, Enos).

Mid-Pacific 45, Saint Louis 41

Shaun Dobovan scored 14 points to lead the Owls past the Crusaders and into tonight's matchup against Kamehameha.

Patrick Matthews added 13 points and Ty Kono chipped in with nine for Mid-Pacific, which makes the trek up the hill to Kekuhaupio Gym.

Mika Wong had 15 points to lead Saint Louis.

MID-PACIFIC — Patrick Matthews 13, Andrew Swanson 4, Dayton Uchiyama 0, Shaun Dobovan 14, Shane Kurihara 3, Shai Brown 0, Marcus Doi 0, Matthew Reyes 2, Ty Kono 9, Matthew Carland 0.
SAINT LOUIS — Acen Cabral 6, Quinn Arakawa 1, Marcus Umu 13, Nainoa Frank 4, Drew Viena 2, Mika Wong 15, Joseph Kanoa 0, Starr Sua-Passi 0, Bryan Cieslik 0, Jaris Popacca-Falefa 0, Reeves Koehler 0.
3-point goals — Mid-Pacific 5 (Dovovan 2, Kono 2, Matthews). Saint Louis 5 (Umu 3, Wong 2).