They'd gone a long time without a state championship, but these 'Iolani Raiders knew exactly how to cut down the nets.

Kainoa Chu's 3-pointer with 5 seconds left broke a stalemate and gave top-seeded 'Iolani a 46-43 win over Kamehameha last night in the final of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball Division I State Championships.

A raucous crowd of 5,407 saw the Interscholastic League of Honolulu rivals battle back and forth from the start. 'Iolani fell behind 12-2 and faced an uphill climb all the way through, not a whole lot different from their season as a whole.

Chu's clutch shot, off a pass from Andrew Skalman and a screen by Jarrett Arakawa, was set up during a time out with 18 seconds left and the game tied at 43. The play was designed to look to the corner, where Trevyn Tulonghari had spotted up. Instead, Chu was surprisingly wide open at the top of the key.

“;The play was run for Kainoa. He's our main man,”; Arakawa said. “;As a five-unit, we all executed.”;

Chu finished with 27 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range despite a clingy man-to-man defense.

“;That team came out hard and had us down 12-2,”; Chu said. “;We were lackadaisical. I give them credit. They're a good team.”;

It's 'Iolani's first championship since the five-peat dynasty ended in 2006, and gives coach Dean Shimamoto a title in his first season. The last time 'Iolani and Kamehameha met in the state final was 1994, when Shimamoto and assistant coach Adam Wong were players, and current Kamehameha coach Jesse Nakanishi and his twin brother, Julian, were players for Kamehameha.

The Raiders (21-7 overall) met Kamehameha (26-7) five times this season, including nonconference play, and won four times—all by close margins.

“;We were struggling in the beginning of the season, but we stuck together,”; Chu said. “;We finish strong. We have a lot of guts.”;

Micah Christenson led Kamehameha with 23 points on 8-for-18 shooting and grabbed 11 boards. The Warriors, playing their fifth game in six nights, shot 34 percent from the field (17-for-50).

The Warriors' 2-3 matchup zone caused problems for 'Iolani in the first quarter. The Raiders turned the ball over eight times, including six on Kamehameha steals.

Meanwhile, Shane Matayoshi's three-point play capped a 7-0 start for Kamehameha. 'Iolani finally got on the scoreboard when reserve Gabriel Vega laid in an alley-oop pass from Ammon Baldomero with a little more than 4 minutes left in the first quarter.

Kamehameha went to a box-and-one defense, with Brent Auyong shadowing Chu, for the last 2 minutes of the quarter. Dyrbe Enos' 3-pointer from the left corner gave Kamehameha a 12-2 lead entering the second quarter.

'Iolani, which shot 1-for-8 in the first quarter, warmed up in the second. The Raiders got a 3-pointer from Chu to ignite a 10-2 run, but Matayoshi hit a trey from the left corner and Christenson's free throws extended the lead to 19-12 late in the quarter.

Chu's 3-pointer from the right corner with 3 seconds left brought the Raiders within 19-15.

By halftime, it was the Warriors who had gained momentum (57 percent from the field in the second quarter). Kamehameha shot 1-for-10 from the field in the second quarter and was at 22 percent for the half (6-for-27).

With Kamehameha staying in a man defense instead of its usual 2-3 zone, 'Iolani's momentum carried into the second half. The Raiders outscored the Warriors 20-12 in the third quarter, taking a 30-29 lead on Chu's 3-pointer.