Miah Ostrowski and Spencer McLachlin have been four-year varsity members of Punahou's boys basketball team, making the Buffanblu one of the state's most talented teams each season.

This year things finally came together, and the Buffanblu pair will play in their first state title game.

Ostrowski scored 22 points, and McLachlin had 17 points and seven rebounds as top-seeded Punahou beat Kalaheo, 66-53, in the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball Division I State Championships last night at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"We set out this year of really wanting to get the seniors, especially Miah and Spencer, to this point. They've never been to this point," said first-year Punahou coach Dan Hale. "It was our goal to get them there, and we took it one game at a time, and we were fortunate."

Punahou, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, will play No. 2 Kaimuki in the final tonight at 8.

"It means everything right now," said McLachlin, a 6-foot-7 forward. "This was our goal since November 15 when we started. This is what we've been waiting for."

The Buffanblu took a 37-25 advantage at halftime and were never really threatened in the second half. Punahou's largest lead was 62-44 after two free throws by Ostrowski with 2:58 remaining in the game.

Kalaheo, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up, closed to nine points on two occasions, the last at 62-53 with 1:03 remaining. But Punahou made four free throws to seal it.

Ostrowski scored 14 points in the first half, mostly on layups. He finished with four steals and hit 9 of 11 free-throw attempts.

"I'm happy right now, but I'm not satisfied. One more game," said Ostrowski, a 5-foot-9 point guard.

Ostrowski also did a nice job dribbling out the clock when the Buffanblu went to a stall with 6:30 remaining in the game.

"Miah is the heart and soul of that team," Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado said. "Take nothing away from Spencer McLachlin. Miah, everything runs through him. Punahou's not here if Miah's not on that team. That's a fact."

Punahou (13-1) went to a 1-3-1 zone midway through the first quarter, and responded with an 11-3 run to take a 19-9 lead. The Buffanblu stuck with the zone the rest of the game and forced 14 turnovers.

The Buffanblu also got contributions from their supporting cast, which went 8 of 9 from the field. Dalton Hilliard scored 10 points and Kimo Makaula added nine. Both made all three of their shots. As a team, Punahou was 21 of 38.

"We're definitely a deep team and we couldn't have done it without any of them," McLachlin said.

Tyler Caswell and Cheynne Lishman scored 16 points apiece for Kalaheo (14-4) which was dealt a blow when forward Chase Moses left the game early in the second half with a sprained ankle.

KALAHEO (14-4) 9 16 14 14 — 53

PUNAHOU (13-1) 19 18 17 12 — 66

KALAHEO — Alika Kaanapu 0-1 0-2 0, Cody vonAppen 2-3 0-0 6, Koa Siliga 1-5 2-2 4, Taylor Jay 0-1 0-0 0, Larry Soto 0-0 0-0 0, Keano Bruhn 0-0 0-0 0, Bruce Andrews 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Caswell 7-11 2-5 16, Cheynne Lishman 5-16 3-4 16, Chase Moses 0-2 0-0 0, Aaron Fernandez 0-0 0-0 0, Cliffton Pires 2-8 1-2 5, D.J. Chang 0-0 0-0 0, Deaux Burns 1-3 4-6 6. Totals 18-50 12-21 53.

PUNAHOU — Robert Toma 0-0 0-0 0, Jeremiah Ostrowski 6-16 9-11 22, Kimo Makaula 3-3 1-1 8, Dane Okamura 0-1 2-2 2, Kyle Whitford 0-0 0-0 0, Dalton Hilliard 3-3 3-5 10, Henry Cassiday 1-1 0-2 2, Ted Hawkins 0-0 1-2 1, Sean McFadden 0-0 0-0 0, Trevor Crabb 0-0 0-0 0, Kameron Steinhoff 1-1 2-4 4, Spencer McLachlin 7-13 2-2 17, Casey Shibuya 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-38 20-29 66. 3-point goals: Kalaheo 5 (Lishman 3, vonAppen 2). Punahou 4 (Ostrowski, Hilliard, Makaula, McLachlin).

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.