KAILUA-KONA — After narrowly beating University in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Division II Championship a year ago, Kohala boys basketball knew the only way it could stay satisfied was to win it again.
And win again, it did.
The Cowboys beat Maui powerhouse Seabury Hall 49-45 in overtime in the Division II state championship Saturday night in Oahu’s Blaisdell Arena — officially cementing the repeat title run and forming a dynasty on the north side of the island. It was also the third title in four years for head coach Kihei Kapeliela’s squad, tying Saint Francis for the most HHSAA DII championships.
“This is for the community,” he said Sunday after arriving back to the Big Island. “They supported us so much this year.”
Kohala sophomore star Layden Kauka led all scorers with 24, with teammate Jayden Hook behind him with 13. The Spartans’ Bromo Dorn scored 18 points, while teammate Kobe Garcia had 11.
The Spartans used their size and physicality to impose themselves against the Cowboys to start the night — slowing down the pace and backing down the smaller Kohala defenders in the post. Seabury went into halftime with a 19-14 lead and shooting nearly 10% better from the field.
But the Cowboys weren’t ready to give up. After trailing by as much as 10 in the third quarter, Kohala changed its defensive scheme by mixing up zone and full-court press coverages — which frustrated the Spartans and allowed the Cowboys to creep back into the contest. Kohala also became smarter with its shot selection, shooting 43.5% as a unit in the second half opposed to 22.7% in the opening two quarters.
“We knew we had time to get back in it,” Kapeliela continued. “It came down to trusting ourselves.”
Kauka put the team on his back down the stretch in the fourth — knocking down a 3-point shot with 33 seconds to go, followed by sinking three straight free throws after being fouled on an attempt to tie the game with eight seconds remaining.
Seabury missed the final attempt of regulation, and didn’t score for the remainder of the night. Kauka then calmly sank a 15-foot jump shot on the left wing to break ahead to 48-45 with 41 seconds remaining — eerily similar to his game-winning shot in last year’s state match.
“He plays better when the pressure is on him,” Kapeliela said of Kauka. “He was ready (for the moment).”
Hook then notched a free throw in the final seconds to seal a second consecutive title for the Cowboys.
Finishing the year 22-2 overall and 14-0 in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, the future remains bright for the young Kohala team — whose core is made up of mostly juniors and sophomores. Seabury finished 2023-24 with a 25-3 overall record.
KS-Hawai‘i
KS-Hawai‘i, the No. 3 seed in the Division I bracket, fell 69-57 to Punahou on Thursday in the Division I quarterfinals.
The Warriors got off to a strong start, outscoring the Buffanblu 18-9 in the opening quarter. But Punahou got more comfortable as the night went on, outscoring KS-Hawai‘i 43-22 in the second and third quarters. The Buffanblu dominated the Warriors on second-chance points (20-5) and bench points (20-3) to earn a comfortable lead heading into the fourth.
The two teams scored the same amount in the fourth, but it was not enough got KS-Hawai‘i to advance in the tournament.
Punahou’s James Taras led the way with a game-high 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting. His teammate, Ayndra Uperesa-Thomas, added 15.
On the Warriors’ side, Kawohi Huihui led with 17 points. Teammate Kaleb Guerrero dropped 16.
Finishing the year 15-4 overall and 13-1 in the BIIF, KS-Hawai‘i vastly improved from 2022-23, where they went just 13-11 overall.
The Buffanblu fell to St. Louis in the DI title game, ending their season at 23-6 overall.
Pahoa
Pahoa fell to state runner-up Seabury Hall 66-43 in the Division II quarterfinals on Thursday at Kalani High School on Oahu.
The Daggers were outscored in every quarter by the Spartans, who shot 51% as a team to Pahoa’s 33.3%. Seabury also scored 42 points in the paint to Pahoa’s 18, while also collecting 20 points off Dagger turnovers.
Another difference in the outcome came when the Spartans’ Bromo Dorn (25 points), Sebastain Peterson (15 points) and Zack Devane (15 points) combined for 55 points — outscoring the entire Daggers’ roster.
Pahoa was led by Hunter Paio and Donivan Lynch, who scored 16 and 11 points, respectively.
The Daggers then faced Aiea in the fifth-place semifinals, falling once again 55-43.
Pahoa ends 2023-24 as the second-best team in BIIF Division II — finishing 5-4 in league play and 6-7 overall. The season was a success for the green and white, who went just 2-9 overall a year ago.
All-Tournament teams
The HHSAA Boys Basketball All-Tournament teams were released Saturday night. The official results can be found here:
Division I
James Taras, Punahou
Twain Wilson, Leilehua
CJ Bostic, Kalaheo
Ayndra Uperesa-Thomas, Punahou
Shancin Revuelto, Saint Louis
Most Outstanding Player: Pupualii Sepulona, Saint Louis
Division II
Bromo Dorn, Seabury Hall
Jayden Hook, Kohala
Koa Laboy, University
Alika Ahu, University
Jeremiah White, Kaimuki
Most Outstanding Player: Layden Kauka, Kohala
