One down, two to go for Hawaii Preparatory Academy.
Behind 22 points from Valentinas Ulinas, Ka Makani never trailed and knocked off ILH runner-up University Lab 50-42 in the quarterfinals of the HHSAA Division II state tournament on Thursday in Honolulu.
The win was Hawaii Prep’s first at the state tourney since 2014. That year, Ka Makani upset Kaiser in the first round and went on to win the school’s first state title in the sport.
No other Ka Makani player was in double-figures, but Kelsen-Jaye Walker, Javan Perez and Michael Hughes each added 7 points for HPA, which shot 44 percent (19-43) from the field overall and 43 percent (7-16) from behind the arc in the contest.
Leif Fautanu led University with 14 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.
Next up for the BIIF D-II champs is OIA champion Farrington, which knocked off Kauai 62-52.
Hawaii Prep built a nice lead early, holding the Jr. ‘Bows to single digits in the first three quarters. Ka Makani most notably dominated the third quarter, outscoring University 16-5, which provided enough cushion to hold off a late charge in the fourth quarter.
Ka Makani have not experienced defeat since a Dec. 22 loss to Roosevelt in a non-league contest. Hawaii Prep ran through the Big Island unbeaten (14-0) on the way to a BIIF title repeat.
Damien 73, Kohala 42
The Monarchs’ big second half was too much for the Cowboys (11-3) to handle, as the BIIF runners-up were outscored 46-20 in the final two quarters of their quarterfinal game.
O’Shen Cazimero and Jeffrey Francisco each had 10 points for Kohala, which shot just 32 percent from the field and was 3 of 18 from behind the arc.
Jake Holtz notched a double-double for Damien (12-0) with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Hayden Bayudan paced the Monarchs with a game-high 17.
Division I
Kailua 52, Waiakea 48
The BIIF champion Warriors (12-1) rallied in the second half, but the Surfriders (10-4) were able to hold on to advance to the semifinals.
Jerek Prudencio had 14 points for Waiakea, which will play in the consolation bracket Thursday at 3 p.m. against Kapolei.
William Soares added 11 for the Warriors, while Keegan Scanlan had 10 points off the bench. Peter Suiaunoa notched a game-high 14 rebounds in the contest.
Kailua’s Everett Torres-Kahapea recorded 22 points to help the Surfriders to the semis.