HILO — Third-seeded Kohala boys basketball needed a bucket late.
Facing No. 1 Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Wednesday’s KTA/Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) Division II Boys Basketball Championship at Hilo Civic, the Cowboys were losing some momentum to Ka Makani — who had upped its defensive intensity and physicality late to stay in the game. Winning 30-29 with less than three minutes to go, Kohala needed some sort of jolt to get the momentum back.
HPA’s long, physical defense was doubling and trapping star guard Layden Kauka down the stretch, forcing the junior to become a playmaker. Driving into a sea of Ka Makani defenders, Kauka found teammate Dillon Oandasan in the corner, and he knocked down the 3-point shot to go up four points. The clutch shot essentially ended the game, as HPA never got closer to tying or taking the lead.
The Cowboys won 38-29, clinching their fourth consecutive BIIF DII crown. Head coach Kihei Kapeliela wasn’t surprised to see his group come up clutch once again, as he has seen its championship DNA show numerous times in his half-decade of running Kohala’s program.
“These boys have played in some tough games,” he told West Hawaii Today postgame. “Being down or being close, it doesn’t faze them. They always believe that they’re going to pull it off somehow.”
“(Oandasan) hit a huge 3 for us,” Kauka added. “Before the game, my coaches told me that HPA would key in on me, and that’s exactly what they did. I always try to trust my teammates.”
“He’s been playing on a mission where he doesn’t want to let his teammates down,” Kapeliela said. “Sometimes, he forces a shot here and there. He feels like it’s all on him. But it’s a team game and he draws attention, and he found some of our guys in the end. He’s a great passer.”
Both the Cowboys and Ka Makani will represent the BIIF in the HHSAA DII tournament, which begins Wednesday. As of late Thursday afternoon, the bracket and seedings have yet to be released.
The night was a clash of opposing styles between the two teams, as Kohala (17-7 overall, 15-2 BIIF) is an athletic, shiftier team while HPA (19-7 overall, 13-3 BIIF) is a bigger, more physical squad. The Cowboys started the night strong — forcing turnovers, hitting shots and scoring in transition. Down double digits at one point in the first half, Ka Makani then adjusted and went on a run by imposing its size — posting up big men Vander Eberhard and Cam Root on the block against the smaller Kohala defenders. The red and white went into halftime trailing just 20-15.
“I felt like the pace of the game was more to our advantage,” HPA coach and head of school Fred Wawner said. “They’re so explosive offensively, and we gave ourselves a chance. We have a ton of respect for what (Kohala) does, and I thought both teams played really sound defense all night. Hats off to Kohala.”
The Cowboys made adjustments to start the second half, which allowed them to keep the lead until the final buzzer — even when HPA made a late push.
“We switched to a zone to help with their size,” Kapeliela explained. “We weren’t going to block their shots; we just had to give them tougher shots than normal. And I think we did a good job with that.
“(HPA) is so well-coached…the only thing that scares me more than their size is their coaching. But the boys believed and got it done.”
Despite Ka Makani’s gameplan of containing Kauka, the swingman still finished with a team-high 13 points. Forward teammate Jayden Hook added 10 points. Kohala sank six total 3s. So far in 2024-25, the black and gold average 57 points per game and allow under 44. In BIIF play, they averaged 64 points per game and allowed under 40.
Wednesday was also Kauka’s fifth game back in a Cowboys uniform, as he spent the majority of his junior season at Utah Prep playing mainland basketball. Kauka teamed up with No. 1 overall recruit A.J. Dybantsa and four-star Hilo native J.J. Mandaquit during his tenure there.
Due to staff changes, Kauka ultimately elected to return to the Big Island to try to win a third straight state championship with his hometown teammates.
“I’ve been playing with these guys my whole life, so it’s been great coming back home and playing with my team,” Kauka said.
“For the team, it’s like getting their brother back,” Kapeliela added.
Trying to cement themselves in unprecedented territory by winning three straight state titles and four in five years, the Cowboys will have a tough DII field to get through on O‘ahu — potentially facing the likes of Damien, Kauai, Kapa‘a and HPA.
“All eight teams in the bracket will be tough,” Kapeliela said. “Any team can win it. But we’ll play anybody; bring them on. Whoever it will be, we’ll be ready.”
“We just need to work hard, and put in the extra work when we can,” Kauka said. “A lot of us have been going into the gym on our own time and getting shots up. We all need to buy into the system.”
HPA had no double-digit scorers, but was led by Eberhard with seven points. Max Aiona IV also added five. The team averages nearly 60 points per game this season while allowing just over 40.
For Ka Makani, the young squad is excited for the opportunity to compete at states, believing its size and length will be effective against top competition.
“We need to capitalize on some of the advantages that we have,” Wawner explained. “We’re young, so it’s a great experience to have to grow through. I think we’ll definitely be prepared to go to states, and I do think games like this are helpful for young teams.
“We’re definitely excited about what we have in place, and we can’t wait to represent the BIIF and our school. The competition in Division II has been very strong this season.”
KSH 71, Kona 54
Following the DII championship, Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i captured the BIIF DI title with a 71-54 rout of Konawaena. With the win, the Warriors secured the No. 3 seed in the HHSAA DI tournament, and are slated to play the winner of Punahou vs. Moanalua at 5 p.m. Wednesday on O‘ahu.
“I really liked how much we trusted each other,” KSH coach Mike Scanlan said. “We made the extra pass a lot, and everyone trusted each other to take the shots.”
The Wildcats trailed the Warriors by just five after the first quarter, but KSH went on a 20-7 run in the second quarter — separating themselves by double digits for the remainder of the night.
“We were moving the ball a lot and pushing the pace, and we hit some 3s in transition,” Scanlan added. “It’s been something that we’ve tried to emphasize this year.”
Kiai Yasso led the Warriors with a game-high 22 points — his fourth 20-point game of this season. Scanlan has been impressed with how Yasso has made strides in his game this season.
“He’s just the ultimate competitor,” he said. “He’s almost to the point where I have to tell him that he has to calm down. That’s how much of a competitor is. And he’s one of our leaders. So wherever our leaders go, that’s where the team will go. And he’s done an excellent job being a leader this year.”
Alongside Yasso, Kawohi Huihui and Kaikuakea Kahana-Rowe combined for 26 points. In BIIF play, KSH (20-3 overall, 15-1 BIIF) averaged nearly 71 points per game while allowing under 39. Overall, the Warriors average 67.7 points and allow 43.4.
The Wildcats, who will face Leleihua at 3:15 p.m. Monday at home in the opening round of the HHSAA DI tournament, was led by Alex Martinez with 16 points and four 3-pointers made. Ladore Youser also added nine, while Michael Flores had eight. Kona (14-11 overall, 11-4 BIIF) averages 58.8 points per game overall while allowing 55.7. In BIIF play, the Wildcats put up nearly 63 points a night while allowing under 44.
With its most important games of the season in front of them, the Warriors are keeping their mindset simple: take it one game at a time.
“Getting that first game will be big for us,” Scanlan said. “If we get it, then we can be really dangerous. Because then some of the pressure is off of you after that first test.”
See the paper next week for state tournament updates on all four BIIF teams competing.
