Kohala was running and making shots early against No. 3 seed Kauai.
The Cowboys prevailed over the Red Raiders 68-64 in the quarterfinals of the HHSAA Division II boys basketball tournament on Wednesday on Oahu.
Kohala (13-2) plays McKinley (7-7), the OIA runner-up, at 7 p.m Thursday at Kalani High’s gym.
O’shen Cazimero had a well-rounded game with 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals. Jeffrey Francisco added 13 points off the bench, Molonai Emeliano added 10 points, and Koby Agbayani had seven points for Kohala, the BIIF runner-up.
Kean Tibon scored 20 points, Jim Ehia had 12 and Ricky Ralston compiled a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Cazimero scored 10 points in the first half and Kohala took a 19-13 lead at halftime.
“We didn’t know how big they were, but they were pretty big overall, pretty quick and athletic,” Kohala coach Kihei Kapeliela said. “They gave us a hard time, but we pulled it out at the end. Our conditioning held up. They looked pretty gassed.”
That’s been Kohala’s strategy in every game: run down the court in transition, block out on defense, and then keep running.
The Cowboys don’t have anyone 6 feet. Kauai’s Ralston is 6-3 and Tibon is 6-0.
Size didn’t matter too much for the Cowboys, who stuck around at Kalani’s gym to scout their next opponent, McKinley, which survived against No. 2 seed Hanalani 51-50.
Senior forward Frank Camacho led the Tigers with 26 points. No height was listed on McKinley’s roster.
That matters little to the Cowboys, who’ll be running again.
HPA 63, University 46: KJ Walker had a game to remember with 26 points on 10 of 11 shooting, including 2 of 3 from long distance, 4 of 4 free throws, seven rebounds and three steals at Kaimuki High’s gym.
Javan Perez added 10 points, Michael Hughes and Tre Walker had nine points each for No. 1 seed and BIIF champion HPA (14-1), which shot 62 percent from the field.
Ka Makani plays No. 4 and OIA champion Roosevelt in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday at Kaimuki’s gym.
Colby Chun scored 13 points on 4 of 14 shooting, and Ostin Taylor added 12 points for the Jr. Bows (7-5), who converted just 38 percent from the floor.
HPA capitalized on University’s turnovers, outscoring the Jr. Bows 24-16 on giveaways.
Division I
Maryknoll 61, Kamehameha 32:
The Warriors (10-5) played without senior guard Izayah Chartrand-Penera, and it showed on both ends of the floor at Moanalua High’s gym.
The No. 3 seed and BIIF champion Warriors shot just 30 percent from the field and allowed the defending state champion Spartans convert 8 of 17 from long distance.
Chartrand-Penera is the team’s leading scorer and best perimeter defender. He averages close to 18 points per game.
Kaupena Yasso scored 16 points, and Koby Tabuyo-Kahele added eight points for Kamehameha, which trailed 34-17 at halftime.
Niko Robben scored 16 points, and Justin Yap added 14 points for the Spartans (12-3), who shot 51 percent from the floor.
Kamehameha plays Moanalua in a consolation game at 1 p.m. Thursday
Maryknoll plays Damien in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center.