Lynton, Saints sink Ka Makani

Shabir Lynton hit a layup with 1.6 seconds remaining, lifting Saint Francis’ boys basketball team to a 55-53 win over Hawaii Prep in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II state semifinals Friday at Oahu’s Kaimuki High.

The Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Saints (11-0), who faced a 10-point deficit heading into the second quarter, will play Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Kailua (10-5) in the Division II championship game at 5 p.m. today at Neal Blaisdell Center.

HPA (9-5), the two-time Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion, will also play at Blaisdell Center today, taking on Maui Interscholastic League champion Seabury Hall (14-2) at 11 a.m. in the tournament’s third-place game.

Ka Makani consistently got to the basket, and it made 19 of 30 free throws in the contest while Saint Francis made just 8 of 19. Senior guard Jovan Crnic led the way, scoring 25 points for an HPA team that led 23-13 after one quarter.

But the Saints, who nailed five 3-pointers, whittled down the deficit in the second quarter and trailed just 33-30 at halftime. Then they limited Ka Makani to just six third-quarter points and took a 42-39 advantage going into the final quarter.

Matthew Nuumanaia scored a team-high 16 points for Saint Francis, while Austin Ursua and Blayne Won contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively.

For HPA, junior guard Kalan Camero chipped in with nine points, and junior guard Buck Thomas had eight.

Saint Francis 13 17 12 13 — 55

Hawaii Prep 23 10 6 14 — 53

Pahoa 55, University 52: Senior Randin Napeahi scored 18 points, sophomore Tolby Saito added 17 and senior Nick Fisher had 16 to lift the Daggers in consolation play.

BIIF runner-up Pahoa (9-7) will play OIA runner-up Waianae (8-6) for fifth place at 9 a.m. today at Blaisdell Center.

Juniors Anthony Canencia and Ryan Kaleikini scored 17 points each for the Rainbows, an ILH team that ended its season 9-5.

University 14 6 6 26 – 52

Pahoa 14 11 9 21 – 55