Kohala fans follow their favorite basketball team in droves, and many like to wear a shirt that feature three prominent words: dedication, commitment, respect.
Cowboys pride was on full display for 32 minutes Friday night on Oahu – Kohala dearly would have liked to play a few more.
Kaiser escaped with a 50-47 victory at Farrington High when Kealen Figueroa’s 3-pointer missed at the buzzer, advancing to the HHSAA Division II boys championship game.
The Cowboys (14-2) trailed by 11 with 5:43 remaining in the game, but the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up was far from done.
Figueroa scored 13 of his with 16 points in the second half, Mikala Jordan finished with nine, Hana Caravalho had seven and Justin Agbayani six.
But Jordan, Caravalho and Agbayani all fouled out, leaving Figueroa as the last man standing to to lead a last-ditch effort.
The senior hit a 3-pointer to cut Kohala’s deficit to five with 36 seconds remaining. After a Cowboys timeout, Figueroa came up with a steal and was intentionally fouled, giving Kohala two shots and the ball.
Figueroa finished only 7 of 15 from the free-throw line, but he made both of his tries to cut the Cougars’ lead to 49-46.
Instead of trying for a 3, Figueroa was fouled again. After making the first free throw, he rebounded his own miss but missed his putback to potentially tie the game.
Kaiser’s Chance Kalaugher missed both of his free throws on the other end, but Nic Tom came up with a big rebound and Kelsey Lewis made one of two at the line.
With eight second remaining, there was little doubt who Kohala wanted to take the final shot.
Figueroa, the reigning BIIF Division II Player of the Year, was off by a bit, sending the Cowboys into a third-place game against Hawaii Baptist at 1 p.m. Saturday at Stan Sheriff Center.
Before fouling out, Jordan hit a pair of layups to help the Cowboys battle back after falling behind 41-30.
Kohala shot only 30 percent and managed only three points in the second second quarter.
Keoua Mahiko scored 17 points for the Cougars (9-4). The Oahu Interscholastic Association champion draw league rival Kalani at 5 p.m. Saturday in the title game.
Kohala 16 3 9 19 – 47
Kaiser 12 11 10 17 – 50
• Pahoa 74, Kauai 70: The Daggers trailed by 16 points at halftime in a consolation game, and appeared in jeopardy of taking a two-game exit. But the Daggers staged a furious second-half rally and eliminated the Red Raiders at Kalani High Gym to advance to the fifth-place game.
The BIIF champion Daggers (14-2) play the Damien (12-4) at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center
In the first half, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion Red Raiders shot 71 percent (17 of 24) to seize a 42-26 halftime lead. Pahoa had a 33 percent shooting clip (9 of 27).
But the second half was a reversal of shooting by the Daggers, who shot 54 percent (15 of 28) and outscored Kauai, 48-28, in the last 16 minutes.
Tolby Saito scored a game-high 34 points on 10 of 22 shooting, including 4 of 11 from 3-point range and made 10 of 10 free throws. The senior Pahoa guard also had six rebounds, four assists to one turnovers, and got three steals.
Keinan Agonias added 26 points on 8 of 18 shooting, including 3 of 7 3-pointers, and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Daggers went 18 of 22 from the line, including 11 of 11 free throws in the second half. The Warriors (8-2) went just 3 of 4 from the stripe.
Jassem Cumlat scored 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting, including 6 of 12 from long distance, to lead Kauai, which finished with a 54 percent shooting clip (28 of 52) from the field.
Pahoa drained 7 of 12 3-pointers in the second half, and finished with a 44 percent shooting clip (24 of 55) from the floor.
Kauai 25 17 14 14 — 70
Pahoa 14 12 28 20 — 74
• Punahou 83, Konawaena 40: The young Wildcats took a two-game exit, but it was a good lesson learned against the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion and No. 1 seed Buffanblu, who dominated in all areas.
Junior 6-foot-5 center Akahi Troske scored 12 points while Micah Maa and Christoph Kobayashi each had 10 points for Punahou, which shot 49 percent (29 of 59) from the field.
Cameron Howes scored 10 points and Kevin Medeiros finished his Wildcat career with nine points for Kona, which converted only 22 percent (12 of 54) from the floor.
The Buffanblu outrebounded the Wildcats, 49-29, and offered a refresher on the value of making open 3-point shots.
Punahou drained 12 of 27 or 44 percent from long distance, and relegated Kona to just 1 of 19 on 3-point attempts. That was a 36-3 point edge.
For a second straight game, Kona’s most efficient player was freshman point guard Austin Ewing, who scored six points on 3 of 6 shooting in 17 minutes, and finished with four rebounds and three steals.
Kona 5 17 9 9 — 40
Punahou19 5 19 20 — 83