There will be a new Hawaiian Airlines/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division I boys basketball state champion for the first time since 2001.

Kamehameha-Hawai'i, in just its fourth year as a varsity program, held off five-time defending champ 'Iolani, 57-54, in last night's quarterfinals at Radford's James Alegre Gym.

The Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion and No. 3 seeded Warriors improved to 16-2 in the regular and postseason and will face O'ahu Interscholastic Association champ and No. 2 seed Kaimuki (12-5) in tonight's semifinals at Stan Sheriff Center.

Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be televised live statewide on OC-16.

"I told our team before the game, 'This is David vs. Goliath,' " said Kamehameha-Hawai'i senior point guard Mea Wong, who finished with a team-high 13 points. "They're the five-time champion, they've been state champs ever since we (started) high school. Nobody knows about us, nobody cares about us, so we had to earn the respect."

The Warriors made their statement quickly, jumping to a surprising 9-0 lead mostly on easy layups. Isaiah Kekaualua's 3-pointer from the corner gave Kamehameha-Hawai'i a 12-5 lead entering the second period.

The Raiders (11-3) closed to 22-16 by halftime, but began to write its epitaph on the free-throw line by missing 9 of 10 in the quarter, including eight in a row during one stretch. For the game, 'Iolani made just 16 of 39 free throws, including three misses in a row after a fouled 3-point attempt in the fourth period.

"We've been very inconsistent (on free throws)," said Raiders coach Mark Mugiishi. "We played (the Warriors) in the preseason and we knew they are very athletic and they play good defense. Give them credit. But it almost doesn't matter who you play when you shoot as poorly as we did. It's just about putting the ball in the basket."

'Iolani's free-throw woes continued in the third period, when it made just 2 of 7, and Kamehameha-Hawai'i stretched its lead to 33-19 at one point. The Raiders made a mini-run and Bricen McCartney's 3-pointer cut it to 36-31 with 3:48 remaining in the quarter, but the Warriors hung tough and led 39-32 going into the fourth.

They opened it to 42-32 early in the final quarter, but 'Iolani slowly clawed its way back. Ryan Dung's 3-pointer cut it to 46-42 with 2:36 left, but Kekaualua answered with a 3-pointer 20 seconds later to push the lead back to seven. Case Miyahira swished a 3-pointer to close it to 54-52 with 14.9 seconds remaining, but Wong sank two free throws to make it 56-52 one second later.

Pablo Warner's putback with 3.9 ticks left cut it to 56-54, but Wong made the second of two free-throw attempts one second later and Dung's desperation shot from three-quarters court was blocked at the buzzer, setting off a Warriors celebration and ending 'Iolani's record streak.

"I'm happy for the kids," said Kamehameha-Hawai'i coach Nelson Wong, who started the Warriors' program with a JV team in 2002. "I felt all along we could compete at the highest level, it was just a matter of these guys believing it."

Mea Wong says they do.

"I told our guys before the game that we're all men, we're all the same," he said. "We just come from a different island."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.