Kashus Daley scored 20 points and Tiki Akina-Watson added 14 as Kahuku ousted Mililani 63-51 in the opening round of the HHSAA Boys Basketball Division I State Championships.
Kahuku (19-9 overall) will battle MIL champion Baldwin at 5 p.m. Wednesday in McKinley Student Council Gymnasium.
It was a turnaround from their matchup in the OIA quarterfinals, when Mililani went to Kahuku and posted a 57-47 win. That sent Kahuku tumbling into the consolation bracket, but any despair turned into fuel with a state-tournament, opening-round win over the same Trojans on Monday night.
“I think our guys were ready. I think coming on the road, our guys play better on the road. Everybody showed up tonight,” Kahuku coach Brandyn Akana said. “It’s a good team effort. Good defense, smart on offense. We were able to control the entire game.”
Kahuku shot 19-for-22 from the free-throw line, including 9-for-12 by Daley and 6-for-6 by Akina-Watson. Limiting Mililani’s lightning-quick fast break was a priority.
“We talked about that. They’re a transition team. If we could take that away, they would have a tough time scoring,” Akana said.
Roman Gabriel scored 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting from the field for Mililani, which closed the season 21-7 overall. LeCedric Brown tallied 17 points and Tui Tukimaka chipped in nine. It was the swan song for Mililani’s seniors, including Gabriel.
“They’re a good team. We beat them at their house by 10 and it’s hard to beat the same team twice in a season, but that’s no excuse. It was a hell of a run,” Gabriel said after playing his last game for his father, coach Garrett Gabriel. “Junior getting hurt definitely hurt depth-wise.”
Tykea Johnson Jr., a senior forward, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the win at Kahuku on Feb. 5
On Monday, Mililani fell behind by five points in the first half, but chipped away and tied it at 30 on a steal and layup by Tui Tukimaka at the halftime buzzer.
Kahuku then pulled away, smothering Gabriel. The senior wing had 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 at the foul line in the first half. Kahuku limited him to no points on just one field-goal attempt in the third quarter.
“Our bigs did a great job on him. Benson (Goo), Rivs (Rivers Evans) did a great job. I think the length kind of bothered him. We had everyone sag in,” Akana said.
Daley added seven points and five assists.
“This one we came more focused and ready. We really wanted to win. We knew how important this game was. We got better from that first game. We learned a lot,” Daley said. “My coach said I’ve got to get to the hoop more and create for other people, and that’ll get me going.”
Akina-Watson was very efficient, shooting 4-for-7 from the field, combining with Daley for no turnovers.
“We worked on our defense a lot. After they sent us home from OIAs, it feels good to send them home. I was heartbroken. I was sad. I said, if we play them again, we’re going to beat them,” Akina-Watson said.
Mililani took a 35-32 lead on Tukimaka’s straightaway 3 early in the third, but the visitors responded with an 11-0 run. Akina-Watson and Daley stayed in attack mode, getting Mililani guards Ezekiel Virtudes and Tukimaka into some foul trouble. With Tukimaka on the bench, Kahuku switched to a 2-3 matchup zone for the rest of the third quarter.
Akina-Watson scored six in the third stanza as Kahuku opened a 43-35 lead. Daley scored five points to begin the fourth quarter and Evans hustled for an offensive board, then fed Noah Feinga for a layup to open the lead to 50-38 with 4:57 remaining.
Mililani got no closer than 10 the rest of the way. The Trojans shot 5-for-18 from the arc (28%).
