The bracket for the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Division I boys basketball state playoffs was released on Wednesday night.
Hilo High will get right into the action, hosting a first-round game at 4 p.m. on Monday (Feb. 19) against O‘ahu’s Nanakuli High. The Golden Hawks (11-3 OIA, 17-9 ovr.) fell 60-42 to Mililani High in the OIA DI semifinals before defeating Kailua High 62-48 in the third-place consolation match.
The Vikings (11-3 BIIF, 13-4 ovr.) were runners-up in the BIIF DI championship. Nanakuli and Hilo have not played each other yet this season, but have both played against Kahuku High — each taking losses in the preseason. The Red Raiders defeated Hilo 69-33 during a preseason tourney hosted by the Vikings in early December, and beat the Golden Hawks 68-50 two weeks later at an O‘ahu preseason tournament.
Nanakuli later defeated Kahuku 58-55 in the OIA quarterfinals.
The Golden Hawks sport a fairly balanced starting lineup — led by the scoring of Blaze Kaululaau (12.3 ppg) and Zion Donnell (11.7 ppg). Nanakuli excels inside the arc, but struggles at the free throw line — with a team rate of 56.3%.
The Hawks were ranked No. 9 in the state by this week’s ScoringLive poll — higher than any BIIF teams, of which the highest is No. 12 Kohala High.
BIIF DI champion Kamehameha Schools – Hawai‘i received the DI state tourney’s No. 3 seed and a first-round bye — and will face the winner of a matchup between Kailua High (10-1) and Punahou School (9-1) in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Surfriders are ranked No. 5 in the state and the Buffanblu is ranked No. 1, despite entering the tourney unseeded.
All quarterfinal and semifinal matchups will be played at either St. Louis School or Punahou. The fifth place consolation, third place consolation and championship games will take place Saturday at Blaisdell Arena.