Kalaheo enters state tournament at No. 5

This makes it four weeks in a row at No. 1 for the Maryknoll Spartans.

The Spartans lost to No. 2 Punahou, then beat the Buffanblu for the ILH championship last week to remain at No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10 released Monday. This is the third time Maryknoll (26-6) is a unanimous pick by the panel of coaches and media.

Punahou (25-3) and St. Francis (26-3) followed, remaining the same slots they were in last week. Punahou opened the Snapple/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships Monday with a 20-point win over McKinley.

St. Francis is the top seed in the D-II state tourney.

Kahuku (24-4) remains at No. 4, a bellwether favorite of voters despite losing to Kalaheo 55-53 on Wednesday in the Oahu Interscholastic Association championship game.

Unranked a week ago, Kalaheo (20-11) surged into the poll at No. 5 after tripping up Kahuku in the OIA final and Kalaheo in the semifinal.

Kamehameha (20-8) remained at No. 6 in the poll. The Warriors’ season came to an end with a loss to Punahou during the ILH playoffs.

Kapolei (17-5) dropped two notches to No. 7 after the loss to Kalaheo, its first in league play.

Maui Interscholastic League champion Lahainaluna (18-6) moved down one spot to No. 8 and Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Kamehameha-Hawaii slipped one step to No. 9.

‘Iolani (14-11) remained in the Top 10 at No. 10 while Kalani (13-4) was bumped out. The Falcons won the OIA D-II title for a second year in a row, but Kalaheo’s D-I crown created a domino effect that left Kalani out of the rankings — even though Kalani beat Kalaheo on Jan. 5, 42-35.

Kalani (12), McKinley (four) and Damien (one) also received at least one vote.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10