Boys basketball

And just like that, two OIA schools are a win away from capturing state titles in boys basketball for the first time in, well, forever. Farrington knocked out Maryknoll 63-57 in the Division I semifinal round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA State Championships on Friday night at Neal Blaisdell Arena. It was a battle of enormous talents and unyielding will. Maryknoll played well, but Farrington was, as Spartans coach Kelly Grant noted, deeper. When a few contributors struggle, other guys step […]

Before tonight’s semifinals, a few notes and quotes. • Matthew Nuumanaia, the versatile 6-foot-5 senior at St. Francis, was a definite DNP last night for the top-seeded Saints in the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA D-II Boys Basketball State Championships. Kalani beat the Saints 54-41, ousting the defending D-II state champs. No word on why he didn’t play, but whatever the reason, it’s kind of sad that his prep career closes on this note. He’s going to be a tremendous guard at the […]

Here’s what it looks like after tonight’s D-I and D-II battles. Thursday, Feb. 20 Division I Quarterfinal: ‘Iolani 54, Lahainaluna 32, McKinley gym Quarterfinal: Campbell 58, Konawaena 53, McKinley gym Quarterfinal: Maryknoll 66, Baldwin 61, Radford gym Quarterfinal: Farrington 46, Mililani 44, Radford gym Consolation: Waiakea 52, Moanalua 49, Radford gym Consolation: Kalaheo 41, Leilehua 38, McKinley gym Division II Quarterfinal: Seabury Hall 58, Damien 55, Kaimuki gym Quarterfinal: Hawaii Prep 44, Kaiser 41, Kaimuki gym Quarterfinal: Kohala 71, Kauai […]

And then there were eight. If you are a fan of a specific boys basketball high school team that qualified for the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championships, take a deep breath. There will be only one happy team at the end of this week. As of Wednesday night, four teams were sent packing, so to speak. Lahainaluna made quick work of defending state champion Kalaheo, 57-27, in the McKinley bracket. For those of us who saw Kalaheo […]

The HHSAA had to wait a little bit longer to put out the Division II bracket since University High had to travel to Hawaii Prep on Monday for a play-in game. So this is what’s in store for the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division II Boys Basketball State Championships. SEEDING 1. St. Francis 2. Kaiser 3. Seabury Hall 4. Kohala I’m not in complete agreement with the seeding, but it’s minor. STF is a legit No. 1, of course, being A) a […]

Here’s what any coach could have said about the seedings and pairings for the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championships, which were released today by the HHSAA. “This is ridiculous!” “This sucks!” “What the heck were they thinking?” This could apply to any coach since the beginning of time or, more accurately, the start of the state tourney in 1957. But really, a 12-team format will NEVER make everybody happy. Look what the NCAA did as the field […]

Campbell? James Campbell High School popped off the map and into the TV airwaves this week, leading one Pupule to wonder: Is the OIA West really this good? In all, we learned plenty. (See my game story in this morning’s Star-Advertiser.) The Sabers entered this game on a scorching hot run, winning 11 of 12 games. But that was all about the weaker West, right? So explain this: After a 41-40 playoff win over Leilehua, how did they knock out […]