Seoul American junior Willie Brown, right, and Kadena junior Jamil Barney battle for a rebound during Saturday's championship game in the 2008 DODDS-Pacific Far East High School Boys Class AA (large schools) Basketball Tournament at Falcon Gym, Seoul American High School, South Post, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea. Brown, named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as Seoul American beat Kadena 64-60 for its third title in six years, all at home. (Gary Cashman / Special to Stars and Stripes)

Seoul American junior Willie Brown, right, and Kadena junior Jamil Barney battle for a rebound during Saturday's championship game in the 2008 DODDS-Pacific Far East High School Boys Class AA (large schools) Basketball Tournament at Falcon Gym, Seoul American High School, South Post, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea. Brown, named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as Seoul American beat Kadena 64-60 for its third title in six years, all at home. (Gary Cashman / Special to Stars and Stripes)

Kadena senior Matt Hinkle tries to shoot over Seoul American junior Willie Brown during Saturday's Class AA championship game. (Gary Cashman / Special to Stars and Stripes)

Seoul American junior Raidion Fails (54) battles Kadena juniors Jamil Barney (20) and Greg Rogers (15) for a rebound during Saturday's Class AA championship game. (Gary Cashman / Special to Stars and Stripes)

Seoul American senior Shawn Grandy, rear, blocks a shot by Kadena Panthers junior Jamil Barney late in the fourth quarter during Saturday’s Class AA championship game. Seoul American beat Kadena 64-60. (Gary Cashman / Special to Stars and Stripes)

Seoul American Falcons coaches, players and administration celebrate with the banner and first-place trophy after Saturday's championship game in the 2008 DODDS-Pacific Far East High School Boys Class AA (large schools) Basketball Tournament at Falcon Gym, Seoul American High School, South Post, Yongsan Garrison, South Korea. (Gary Cashman / Special to Stars and Stripes)

YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Jamil Barney seemingly could not miss in the first half.

The junior torched Seoul American for 20 points, going 8-for-9 from the field, as Kadena roared ahead by as many as 12 early in Saturday’s Far East High School Boys Class AA Basketball Tournament final.

Even before coach Steve Boyd approached him at halftime, Falcons senior defensive specialist Shawn Grandy knew his job: Shut down Barney.

“I wanted to take him,” Grandy said minutes after the Falcons rallied from a 32-23 halftime deficit to upend the Panthers 64-60 for the title. “I know my role. My job was to deny him the ball.”

Deny him Grandy did, holding Barney to six third-quarter points, which team captain Daniel Burns said gave the Falcons the confidence they needed to stage their comeback.

“He’s the reason we won this game,” Burns said afterward. “If I could vote, I’d vote him MVP. He made Jamil human in the second half.”

That came after Barney’s superhuman first half. Fueled by senior guard Roosevelt Payne’s four first-quarter assists, Barney hit basket after basket, putting the Panthers up 32-20 with two foul shots 30 seconds before halftime.

Grandy’s statistics weren’t overwhelming; two steals, three rebounds, three points and a blocked shot. Each was worth gold, Boyd said.

“He was the difference-maker,” Boyd said. “Shawn is one of those role players who’s been in the program for four years. I challenged him to step up on defense, and he did.”

Slowly the Falcons chipped away at the lead, outscoring Kadena 22-14 to cut the gap to 46-45 after three periods.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, and we didn’t get the ball inside well” in the second half, Kadena coach Robert Bliss said. “Seoul made a lot of key plays and big shots, and we didn’t.

Tournament MVP Willie Brown’s fourth quarter-opening basket triggered five lead changes, the last coming with 3:50 left when Brown went coast-to-coast for a layup.

Seconds later, Barney drove for an apparent easy basket, only to have Grandy come out of nowhere to swat away the ball.

“Solid defense,” Boyd said. “That big block sealed it.”

Seoul American pushed ahead by as many as seven points down the stretch, with Brown scoring 12 of his 18 points in the second half. Barney’s 11-point fourth quarter gave him a game-high 37.

The victory gave the Falcons, 51-7 this season, their third Class AA title in six years, all at home. Since 1982, host teams have reached the final 19 times, winning 12 of them.

“It’s always a thrill to win it on your home court,” Boyd said. “The fans gave us a huge lift, like a sixth man on the court.”

Meanwhile, the Panthers, 36-14, were denied in their bid to match Okinawa-rival Kubasaki for a Pacific-record ninth title.

“Seoul was just better than us in the second half,” Bliss said.