In a matchup of two high-flying, hot-shooting teams, Punahou raced past Mililani, 56-31, last night in the quarterfinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Championships.

The unseeded Buffanblu, runners-up in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, improved to 12-3 in the regular and postseason and will face No. 2 seed and Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Konawaena (15-1) in tonight's 8 o'clock semifinal at Blaisdell Arena.

BIIF runner-up Kamehameha-Hawai'i will play unseeded O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up Moanalua (13-5) in the first semifinal at 6.

Mililani, which finished third in the OIA's Western Division before finding a hot streak en route to winning its first league crown, fell to 13-4.

The Trojans fell into a quick 8-2 hole but closed it to 13-10 after Reid Pangelinan's three-point play with 3:09 remaining in the first period.

Kimo Makaula then scored on a layup with four seconds left in the quarter that started Punahou on a 15-4 run for a 28-14 halftime lead.

In an unusual twist, the Buffanblu's two top scorers — senior forward Kameron Steinhoff and junior post Manti Te'o — combined for only two points as Punahou got contributions from almost everybody else.

"Kameron's been carrying us the whole season, so the rest of us had to work on our shots and be ready," said Buffanblu junior guard Robbie Toma, who scored nine points in the first half and finished with a game-high 12. "In the state tournament, you have to bring it. Every game, you have to play like it's your last game, you have to play like there is no tomorrow."

In the third period, Punahou stepped up its defensive pressure even more, limiting Mililani to two points en route to a 37-16 lead entering the fourth.

"The whole year, coach has been stressing defense as the key to wins," Toma said. "We had to keep the pressure up, keep it coming and never stop."

The Trojans, who burned the nets in the OIA tournament, managed to make only one 3-pointer the entire game, with 5:33 left.

Te'o (eight points) and Steinhoff (five points) warmed up in the second half, but by then the other Buffanblu had built up a big lead.

"If you told me that Kameron and Manti would go almost scoreless for the whole first half, and we'd still be up by double digits, I don't know if I would have believed you," Punahou coach Dan Hale said. "But we got some real help from Robbie and Dalton (Hilliard) and Henry (Cassiday) and Trevor (Crabb) and even Kai Gaddis. It's a good thing because Mililani is a great team and that lead could have shrunk quickly. But our guys stepped up. We told them to be ready, because you never know when your time is."

Gaddis, a seldom-used forward during the regular season, sank a 12-foot jumper and then a leaning 3-pointer to give the Buffanblu a 27-12 lead with 1:38 remaining in the first half.

ILH counterparts 'Iolani and Kamehameha fell yesterday, leaving Punahou as the only representative standing.

PUNAHOU (11-4) 15 13 9 19 — 56

MILILANI (13-4) 10 4 2 15 — 31

PUNAHOU — Dalton Hilliard 7, Robert Toma 12, Matthew Feldman 2, Henry Cassiday 6, Kimo Makaula 6, Manti Te'o 8, Kameron Steinhoff 5, Kai Gaddis 5, Trevor Crabb 5, Shane Yoishiyama 0, Sean McFadden 0, Dane Okamura 0, Casey Shibuya 0. Totals 24 4-9 56.

MILILANI — Devin Hall 0, Scott Burns 10, Cody Kilthau 5, Moshi Mabry 0, Devon Castellano-Chock 3, Nick DeMusis 2, Reid Pangelinan 3, Bokoolaka Keto 0, Jonathan Keen 8. Totals 10 10-11 31.

3-point goals: Punahou 4 (Toma 3, Gaddis). Mililani 1 (Burns).