The Hawaii High School Athletic Assoctaion (HHSAA) recently released the Division II bracket for the upcoming state tournament, which begins Thursday on Oahu.
Two Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) schools — No. 6 Kohala and No. 24 Pahoa — will represent the island in the DII field. The No.1-seeded Cowboys have been on a tear all season, finishing unbeaten in their conference (19-2 overall, 12-0 BIIF) and are currently riding a 19-game win streak — with their last loss being against Oahu’s St. Louis on Dec. 1.
Kohala’s defending state champion squad is led by sophomore guard Layden Kauka, who averages nearly 20 points per game. Overall in 2023-24, the Cowboys have averaged 60.2 points per game — currently higher than their 57.4 per game average during the state title run a year ago.
In pursuit of the schools’s third straight BIIF title, Kohala beat HPA 61-32 in the island semifinals on Feb. 7 and the Daggers 54-38 in the championship game Feb. 9.
The Cowboys will face Honolulu school Le Jardin Academy at 7 p.m. Thursday at Kaimuki High School in the quarterfinal round. Kohala’s opposition finished the year 20-11 overall and 11-5 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) after missing the state tournament in 2023. The Bulldogs are led by a three-headed dragon of double-digit scorers — senior forward Jackson Swirsky (14.7 points per game), senior center Giovanni Olivia (11.6 points per game) and senior guard Kai Kimhan (11.2 points per game). Le Jardin uses its size and power to outwill opponents, which could serve as a challenge for the Cowboys — who play with pace and space as a smaller team.
The Bulldogs notched a berth in the state tournament by handling Hawaii Baptist 79-61 on Friday night. Le Jardin will join No. 9 University Lab School to represent the two schools from ILH on Oahu.
Over on the other side of the bracket, BIIF’s Pahoa will take on No. 3-seeded Seabury Hall at 5 p.m. Thursday at Kalani High School.
Finishing second in BIIF Division II after falling to Kohala in the title game, the Daggers will hope to make some noise as a dark horse in the tournament as a lower seed. Overall across the season, Pahoa has averaged 48 points per game, led by star Kyran Canete at 14.7 a night. Canete’s teammate, Donivan Lynch, averages 11 points per game.
The No. 12 state-ranked Spartans, on the other hand, head into Thursday as the favorite over the Daggers. The Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) force finished the year 23-2 overall and 12-0 in its conference — including a 81-52 blowout win over BIIF squad Konawaena on Dec. 9.
Averaging an impressive 70.8 points per game, the Spartans’ high-flying offense is led by junior Bromo Dorn, who scores 15.2 points per game. Dorn’s teammate, senior Kobe Garcia, averaged 14.3.
To view the entire bracket, please refer to the story’s picture.