It had to happen sometime.

In this most competitive of Interscholastic League of Honolulu boys basketball seasons, the last of the unbeaten teams finally fell last night as Punahou knocked off visiting Kamehameha, 45-39, before a raucous crowd of about 1,150 at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

The Buffanblu's victory prevented the Warriors (10-1) from clinching the ILH championship and keeps five-time defending champ Iolani's title hopes alive. Kamehameha, ranked No. 1 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, visits No. 2 Iolani (8-2) at 8 p.m. Friday in the regular-season finale.

The Raiders host Mid-Pacific (1-10) tonight.

No. 3 Punahou (8-3) visits No. 4 Saint Louis (7-4) tomorrow at 7 p.m. If Punahou and Iolani finish tied for second at 9-3, they will play off for the runner-up spot and state tournament berth that goes with it. But in an ILH season where the fifth-place team (Maryknoll, 3-8) has come within a basket of beating Iolani, Punahou and Saint Louis, nobody is taking anything for granted.

"This is a sign of how tough this season is," said Buffanblu junior Spencer McLachlin, pointing to a fresh one-inch cut below his right eye suffered in the final moments of last night's hard-fought victory. "We still gotta get past Saint Louis. We're not even thinking about states yet."

Punahou ended the first period with a 10-4 run to lead 16-14 and never trailed again, stretching it to 41-29 with 1:47 remaining. But the Warriors refused to go quietly, rallying to close it to 43-39 after Rykin Enos' three-point play with 24 seconds left.

But Danny Cho and Freddie Hart each sank a free throw in the final 23 seconds to seal it.

"(The Warriors) compete so hard," Buffanblu coach Greg Tacon said. "They have a way of making the game shorter in the beginning and then stretching it out at the end so it's hard to beat them. They have good athletes, and they do a great job of controlling the game."

Enos, who finished with a game-high 19 points, scored eight point early to help Kamehameha take a 10-6 lead. But Miah Ostrowski (18 points) swished a 23-footer from the right wing, McLachlin followed with a 3-pointer and Ostrowski nailed a short jumper to tie it at 14.

McLachlin then ended the quarter with a 15-footer and opened the second period with a 3-pointer and two free throws to put Punahou up, 21-14, with 5:07 remaining.

That would be the Buffanblu's final points of the half, but the Warriors were shut out the entire quarter as both defenses picked up intensity and Punahou went into a patient weave at the three-minute mark.

"We had enough (scoring) opportunities, but we were too inconsistent on offense," Kamehameha coach Jesse Nakanishi said. "But give credit to Punahou — they played well."

The Warriors cut it to 23-18 early in the third period, but Ostrowski answered with another 3-pointer and the Buffanblu eventually built the lead to 31-20 after Brandon Kapana's layup with 2:08 left. Punahou then scored all but two of its 11 fourth-quarter points from the free-throw line to hold off Kamehameha's charge.

The Buffanblu have won five straight after starting the ILH season 3-3.

"Our communication was pretty much non-existent in the first round," said McLachlin, who finished with 15 points, three rebounds, three blocks and two steals. "We've become more vocal, and I would say that's the biggest factor (in the streak)."

KAMEHAMEHA (10-1) 14 0 10 15—39

PUNAHOU (8-3) 16 5 13 11—45

KAMEHAMEHA — Totals 15 7-10 39.

PUNAHOU — Totals 14 12-17 45.

3-point goals—Kamehameha 2 (Enos 2). Punahou 5 (Ostrowski 3, McLachlin 2).

SAINT LOUIS 62, MARYKNOLL 42

Cameron Bayne scored 20 points and Jeremiah Masoli 14, lifting the Crusaders over the Spartans. Tyler Tsukazaki led Maryknoll with 13 points.

MARYKNOLL (3-8) — 42

SAINT LOUIS (7-4) — 62

MARYKNOLL— Totals 15 10-17 42.

SAINT LOUIS— Totals 25 11-20 62.

3-point goals—Maryknoll 2 (Liu, Misajon). Saint Louis 1 (Masoli).

Reported by Gail Juan

ILH

DIVISION II

PUNAHOU 65, LUTHERAN 33

Pun: Dru Hara 10. Luth: Derek Alik 16.

SAINT LOUIS 59, LE JARDIN 23

SL: Kamalu Umu 14. LJ: Kevin Heinemann 12.

WORD OF LIFE 66, LANAKILA BAPTIST 59

WOL: Jordan Ranche 28, Aaron Tipoti 19. LB: Charles Hazelwood 21, Alika Borabora 14.

HANALANI 52, ASSETS 43

Hana: Tommy Wotjola 20. ASSETS: Nick Castello 18.

IOLANI 50, HAWAI'I BAPTIST 48 OT

Iol: Matt Smith 10, Josh Starbuck 10, Aaron Young 11, Leo Shimizu 15. HBA: Josh Baek 21, Landon Herder 12.

ACADEMY OF THE PACIFIC 61, UNIVERSITY HIGH 54

AOP: Keoni Daniel 26, Brad Foster 14. UHS: Bradley Bonilla 22, James Kometani 12.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.