To be the best, Seabury Hall had to beat the best.

Bromo Dorn made sure of it, with 20 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists as the Spartans outlasted Hawaii Prep 49-33 in the Division II final of the HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships Friday night at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The 6-foot-5 senior took control at the point, setting teammates up for key baskets after a resilient, young Ka Makani squad had rallied from a 15-point deficit to within 37-30 in the fourth quarter.

“This is a testament to the mental toughness and the perseverance of these guys that came back,” Seabury Hall coach Scott Prather said.

The Spartans beat Kaiser 75-59 in the quarterfinals before knocking two-time defending state champion Kohala out, 59-49 in the semifinal round. Kohala entered as the fourth seed, but the return of Layden Kauka from Utah Prep presented a big challenge. Or would have — Kauka suffered a high-ankle sprain against Damien on opening day and played through the injury against Seabury Hall.

“Kohala’s an amazing team. They’re well coached. They’ve got great players,” Dorn said.

“It’s just respect and love. They play the game the right way,” Prather said. “They’ve won a lot because they’ve put in the work.”

Dorn spent his senior year in one place with a simple, ultimate goal.

“This guy (Dorn) had opportunities to try to do things elsewhere, but he stayed true to his word, to his team and coaches, and he delivered as promised,” Prather said. “To be in a position to coach a guy like this makes me a better coach.”

Dorn confirmed that basketball programs from Oahu to Middle America reached out to him last year.

“I had a couple conversations with some ILH schools, some teams out in Cali and Oklahoma,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to win anywhere else.”

He preferred to stay right in Makawao, in Upcountry Maui, and help the Spartans make history.

“Oh, my god. It feels amazing, man. I came to Seabury, I made a promise to myself and my coaches and my school, I’m not leaving without one, man. I love my coaches and I love my team,” Dorn said. “They deserve it.”

The state crown is the first in boys hoops for Seabury Hall (28-4 overall) after years of getting close. Losing to Kohala 49-45 in overtime for the state title last year left a lasting, bitter taste.

“To get that close and have it almost yanked out of our hands, it was gut-wrenching,” Prather said. “For a year, all our returnees, our coaches, it was burning inside the entire year. It’s so extra gratifying and satisfying to be in this moment with these guys, especially this young man (Dorn). I can’t say enough about him. He’s like my little brother.”

Dorn simply helped make his teammates better, becoming the maestro in the second half, finishing the game without a turnover. Sebastian Peterson scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half and finished 7-for-8 from the free-throw line, adding seven boards, three assists and two steals.

“That’s one of the things we said in the locker room. We cannot take anybody lightly,” Peterson said.

“We played them in preseason (a 52-48 homecourt win on Dec. 12). They’re a tough team, so we came out tough and with more intensity at the start,” Peterson said.

Keahi Sjostrand, a 6-5 senior, came through with six points, nine rebounds and three steals. As a team, the tall Spartans did not block a shot, but out of their sticky 2-3 zone, they contested just about every HPA shot. Ka Makani finished 12-for-38 from the field (32%).

Vander Eberhard, a 6-7 sophomore, led HPA (21-8) with 11 points. Junior guard Kingdon Simmons added seven points, 6-5 senior Cam Root had six points and sophomore guard Micah Yamasaki had five.

“This has been a good experience for them,” HPA coach Fred Wawner said. “We talked about it. We know who we are. We needed it to be in the 40s and 50s, and we felt like we’d be comfortable. They did a nice job in their zone and we struggled to score, but it was the right pace for us. We had a chance. We fought back.”

It was all Spartans in the first five minutes. Dorn pulled up for a tough 15-foot baseline jumper to get them started, and moments later splashed a 3. After Peterson made a rainbow fadeaway jumper in the lane, Seabury Hall had a 9-0 lead with 3:58 left in the opening quarter.

HPA missed its eight shots against the Spartans’ 2-3 matchup zone.

Seabury Hall closed the quarter with a corner 3 by Sjostrand on a dish by Dorn for a 14-3 cushion.

With a 25-13 halftime lead, the Spartans already had 10 points apiece from Dorn (4-for-10 from the field) and Peterson (5-for-5).

HPA was 5-for-23 from the field by intermission, including 0-for-8 from the 3-point arc. (It finished 2-for-13 from 3.) They pounded the paint to begin the second half, cutting it to 27-17 on buckets by Eberhard and Root. HPA’s defense tightened up, limiting Seabury Hall to 1-for-6 shooting in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

Dorn then took command, hitting two treys from the wing. Then he stole the ball from freshman Max Aiona IV, went coast to coast and followed his missed layup for another bucket. That opened Seabury Hall’s lead to 35-20.

HPA countered with the final five points of the third quarter, and after Eberhard scored in the middle of the paint, it was 35-27. After Simmons splashed a corner 3 on an inbounds play, Ka Makani were within 37-30. Seabury Hall called time out with 6:15 remaining.

But Seabury restored the lead to 41-30 with 4:55 to go.

Dorn’s drive and tough 5-footer off the glass extended the lead to 43-30 with 3:20 left.

He finished 8-for-18 from the field, possibly one of the tallest point forwards in state history.

“(Dorn) is a handful,” Wawner said. “I hope he plays somewhere (in college) next year. He’s a talented kid. He’s one of the best in the state, for sure. I thought we did a pretty good job on him.”

Third place

Kohala 61, Aiea 48

Layden Kauka scored 24 points on 9-for-17 field-goal shooting while senior Jayden Hook added 19 points (8-13 FG) and seven boards as the Cowboys (19-9) took third.

Kauka played through a high-ankle sprain suffered during Wednesday’s quarterfinal game with Damien.

Taylor Moku had 12 points and Shealand Kazama tallied 10 for OIA champion Aiea (18-9).