Junior center Desmond Tautofi had game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds to rally Kaimuki to a 76-60 win over Kea'au yesterday in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division I Boys Basketball State Championships at McKinley.

Kea'au gave Kaimuki all it could handle through three quarters and held a 47-45 lead going into the final period. But the Bulldogs turned to Tautofi, who sat out most of the third quarter with three fouls, and he delivered with 11 fourth-quarter points and several key rebounds.

"We're just lucky that they missed a couple of shots in the fourth quarter and we were able to pull away," Kaimuki coach Kelly Grant said. "We had to really suck it up and grind all the way to the fourth quarter to pull this one out."

The Bulldogs took the lead for good on their first possession of the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by junior guard Gabriel Stietzel, and quickly extended it on a Tautofi putback to make it 50-47 with about seven minutes left.

Kea'au tried to double- and even triple-team Tautofi — who stands 6 foot 2 and weighs 250 pounds — in the second half.

"We still wanted to throw the ball into Desmond, but instead of bounce passes, I told our guards to just throw it up to him," Grant said. "Our guards have a tendency to throw the ball (into the post) quick, before the double-team comes, but we didn't have to worry about the double-team because (Kea'au is) so small. I told them to let the double-team come, just throw the ball up and let Desmond grab it."

Kaimuki held Kea'au scoreless for nearly four minutes in the fourth and used a 14-0 run to turn a two-point lead into a 16-point edge at the 2:53 mark with the score 67-51.

"I wouldn't say that we ran out of gas, but it was more that we got frustrated," said Kea'au coach Wade Ishibashi Jr. "We gave it our all, played with heart, and they just came out the better team."

Kaimuki shot 67 percent from the field in the second quarter and 54 percent for the game, including a blistering 53 percent (9 of 17) on 3-pointers.

David Taulung scored 17 points, Ryan Kakitani added 16 and Stietzel 15 for the Bulldogs, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up. Makana Cazimero led Kea'au — the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up, with 14 points and Haku Ishibashi added 12.

KEA'AU (9-5) 12 15 20 13 — 60

KAIMUKI (14-5) 14 13 18 31 — 76

KEA'AU — Richard Handy Jr. 10, Chaz Cabatbat 0, Haku Ishibashi 12, Makana Cazimero 14, Jelani Young 3, Sekona Holani 2, Mtume Msikizi-Jackson 11, Daniel Brooks 8, Kapono Ige 0. Totals 22 13-21 60.

KAIMUKI — Raphael Vares 1, Tevin Nishiyama 1, David Taulung 17, Elijah Morita-Dudoit 0, Mason Kuali'i-Moe 0, Jason Nutter 5, Ryan Kakitani 16, Clay Montiho 0, Gabriel Stietzel 15, Kelly Tobin 0, Dayton Ortiz 2, John Vave 0, Desmond Tautofi 19, Chad Ka'aihue 0. Totals 27 9-17 76.

3-point field goals — Kea'au: 3 (Handy 2, Young). Kaimuki: 9 (Kakitani 4, Stietzel 4, Taulung).

KALAHEO 62, RADFORD 36

Matt Gasparine-Young had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the sixth-ranked Mustangs (13-6) past the Rams (12-5). Kalaheo meets top-seeded Kamehameha in today's quarterfinal round, 7 p.m. at McKinley.

RADFORD (12-5) 11 10 6 9 — 36

KALAHEO (13-6) 17 14 12 19 — 62

RADFORD — Derrell Lee 9, Marcus Malepeai 8, Joash Pangilinan 0, Tony Reid 4, Quentin Kimura 12, Jared Victorino 0, Ratu Baravilala 0, Jefferson Fiesta 0, Robert Wolshlager 1, Aldrin Valdez 0, Colvin Taylor 2, Kamu Taulelei 0. Totals 14 4-11 36.

KALAHEO — Christian Kepa 11, Matt Gasparine-Young 21, Richard Preza Haynes 4, Kona Makaula 2, Aaron Fernandez 12, Quincy Mason 0, Dwayne Mitchell 3, Kevin Leong 2, Shane Hipa 3, Zach Lovelace 0, Josh Bascuk 0, Shawn Hipa 3, Carlos Craig 1. Totals 21 14-19 62.

3-point field goals — Radford: 4 (Kimura 4). Kalaheo: 6 (Fernandez 3, Kepa 2, Shane Hipa).