‘Iolani struggled with finishing in layups and controlling the ball, while Punahou played comfortably. After the first quarter, Punahou led, 17-3. A determined effort allowed the Raiders to quintuple their point total and score 12 points while the Buffanblu scored 14 and led 31-15 going into halftime. However, the deficit created in the first quarter proved to be too large to overcome for ‘Iolani, who scored 9 points in the third compared to Punahou’s 10, and even outscored the Buffanblu, 19-13, in the final quarter. Not even a spectacular dunk by senior Gabriel Vega at the final buzzer could change the final outcome as Punahou won, 56-43.

The Raiders send off seniors Vega, Duke Pauli, Austin O’Leary, and Josh Hannum.

The team held significant leads early, with a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and a 29-21 lead in the third before the Spartans went on a 21-4 run. The Raiders were 9 for 18 on free throws and 18 for 41 on field goals compared to the Spartans, who were 20 for 31 from the line and 16 for 30 from the field. The Raiders were led in scoring by Austin O’Leary (21 points) and Duke Pauli (13 points).

The Raiders are now 1-1 in ILH pool play (6-4 in league play) and have Punahou and Kamehameha left on the schedule. Of the five teams playing in the ILH championship pool, the top two are guaranteed a state tournament berth. A third ILH team may qualify through a series of playoffs.

Earlier today, the Punahou Buffanblu defeated the Kamehameha Warriors, 59-57. The Buffanblu, who beat the Spartans earlier this week, are now 2-0 and lead in pool play. The Warriors fell to 0-1.

Current ILH second-round/pool-play standings are as follows:
Punahou 9-1 overall
Maryknoll 6-4 overall
‘Iolani 6-4 overall
AOP  7-2 overall
Kamehameha  5-4 overall

Taylor Mali’s guttural monk chants and wisdom echoed through St. Alban’s Chapel Thursday as he skated on the boundaries of ‘Iolani’s Episcopalian beliefs with his chapel speech.

He melded wisdom and an unapologetic sense of humor fresh to the campus, tying in his jokes to religious theme.

Alerted by a stream of camera clicks to the presence of yearbook staffer taking his picture, he struck a comic pose and implored the yearbook staffer, “Take it already!”, taking his audience in stride as only true masters of performance can.

Irreverent of routine but imparting the serious message that in faith, “It’s the intention that counts,” and “Miracles don’t always come in the form you expect,” he added a wild and freer spirit of hilarity to the usual routine of chapel.

Taylor Mali will be holding a free poetry reading, “Bringing Poetry to the Boxing Room,” from 7p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 31st in Seto Hall. More information can be found here.

‘Iolani came out firing, leading 8-0 at one point thanks to minimal turnovers and a great low-post performance by senior Duke Pauli. Making equally valuable contributions in the first half were senior Gabriel Vega and sophomore Zach Buscher. The Raiders led 21-13 at halftime. ‘Iolani even extended that lead to 28-17 halfway through the third quarter before a 12-4 Dolphin run, helped by a few sloppy Raider turnovers, made the score 32-29 about a minute into the fourth.

The final few minutes of the game would be a battle of free throws, and it wasn’t a pretty one. In the final quarter, the Raiders made 3 out of their 10 free throws, including only 1 out of 8 in the final four minutes. The Dolphins only did slightly better, draining 4 out of 8 from the line in the fourth quarter. Free throws were most likely the greatest factor in AOP’s ability to close in on the Raiders in the final minutes.

With less than a minute on the clock and ‘Iolani barely leading, 38-37, AOP put up a shot that missed and was rebounded by Vega, who was fouled with 4.8 seconds left in the game. Vega, up until that point was a perfect 8 for 8 from the line, made the first free throw and missed the second. After a timeout, the Dolphins moved the ball to Wilson MacLeod. MacLeod, who made the game-winning shot at the buzzer for AOP in ‘Iolani’s Lower Gym just a week ago in the ILH first-round, launched the ball from behind the three-point line, but his shot drifted to the right and bounced off the rim. The Raiders won, 39-37, which was the exact same score from that first-round game, but this time in favor of ‘Iolani.

Vega scored a game-high 15 points, while Pauli contributed 14 and Buscher 10. Drew Viena and David Daniel led the Dolphins with 11 points each. ‘Iolani shot 43.8% from field goal range and 52.9% from the line, while AOP came in at 37.8% from the field and 53.8% from the line.

‘Iolani faces Maryknoll next at the Lower Gym on Saturday at 6:00 pm. The Raiders lost to the Spartans in an overtime cliffhanger in their first-round matchup at Maryknoll. Maryknoll lost to Punahou, 62-37, in their second-round opener.

Guthrie Angeles contributed to this story.

Coming off of a last-second loss to Academy of the Pacific two days earlier, ‘Iolani picked itself up and controlled the pace of this game fairly well, with a small yet constant lead most of the way. ‘Iolani led 40-36 going into the fourth quarter. The Raiders’ intensity began to waver in the last half of the fourth quarter, and they trailed the Warriors by three in the final minute after two free throws by Kamehameha’s Makoa Chamanse-Stevens. Austin O’Leary ’12 responded by draining a well-defended three-pointer to tie it with 7.4 seconds left. However, on the Warriors next possession, Enos was fouled with 0.8 seconds left in regulation. The Raiders, whose nine fouls put the Warriors in the one-and-one bonus, watched as Enos, one of the best shooters in the state, went to the line for the first of a one-and-one series. The shot by Enos, who was 4 for 5 in free throws in the game so far, bounced off the front of the rim and was snatched up by Vega. And thus, the game would go into overtime.

The Warriors struck first on a three-pointer by Austin Gerrard. O’Leary pulled the Raiders to within one, this time with a two-pointer about one step inside the three-point line. Kamehameha couldn’t make a shot despite multiple attempts, and took a timeout with 47 seconds left. A tight ‘Iolani defense caused Enos to step out of bounds, giving the Raiders possession. The Raiders used two timeouts on their ensuing possession, setting up the pivotal final play. With the clock ticking down, Duke Pauli ’12 lobbed a high-arcing pass over the hands of three Kamehameha defenders into the hands of 6’7″ Vega. Vega turned to the basket and made the layup with 5.5 seconds left. After a Kamehameha timeout, the Warriors inbounded the ball to Enos, who moved quickly downcourt, but airballed the desperation three-pointer.

The Raiders’ stifling of Enos was key, as Enos only scored 13 points, as opposed to his average of 19.3 points in previous ILH games. Both teams made 19 field goals, except the Warriors had 54 attempts for 35.2%, compared to the Raiders’ 32 attempts for 59.4%. The Raiders shot 14 for 15 in free throws for 93.3%, while the Warriors struggled from the line, going 8 for 12, equating to 66.7%. Pauli led ‘Iolani with 20 points, as Vega contributed 18 and O’Leary 11. Chamanse-Stevens led the Warriors with 18 points.

The Raiders are now 5-3 in the ILH, the same as both Kamehameha and Maryknoll. AOP and Punahou lead the league with records of 7-1.