Kalaheo gallops into semifinals to meet two-time defending state champ Saint Louis


Brian Bautista | SL

The ride continues.

Four Mustangs netted double figures as Kalaheo continued its state tournament run by rolling past fourth seed and MIL champion Baldwin, 76-55, in the HHSAA/Heide & Cook Division I Boys Basketball State Championship quarterfinals at Punahou's Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

The Mustangs (21-13 overall) knocked out No. 5 and OIA runner up Mililani, 51-48 in the opening round on Monday and with the win, reach the semifinals for the first time since 2015, the last time they won a state title.

"I feel a lot of preseason games we played that really helped build our chemistry. We started off slow in the beginning, but we're clicking at the right time," Joshua Schutter said, as the Mustangs won four of their last six games.

"We're playing as a team and everything is clicking right now as a team," Jaron Gilmore added. "It's super big, we've been working all summer and we need the dub."

Kalaheo faces top seeded and ranked Saint Louis in the semifinals on Friday at Hemmeter after the Crusaders crushed Nanakuli, 60-29.

Tip off is scheduled for 5 p.m. followed by second seed and No. 4 Leilehua and No. 2 Punahou in the 7 p.m. nightcap. The Mules edged Kahuku, 58-57 while the Buffanblu pulled away from Kamehameha-Hawaii, 69-57 in the quarterfinal bracket at Saint Louis.

Jaron Gilmore scored a game-high 23 points, CJ Bostic had a triple-double 12 points, 13 boards, and 10 assists. Peyton Smith drilled four 3-pointers for 14 points and Schutter added 11 points and five steals.

"That's how we tried to play. On any given night, anyone on our team can go off of the five we have. Tonight, Peyton hit a lot of 3s, CJ, Jaron, those guys are dynamic in transition. Those guys really help us," Schutter said.

"We play with five guards, it's easy with five guards to get layups," Gilmore said.

Trotter Apo led the Bears (14-7 overall) with 19 points on 5-of-11 from 3 and Casey Talana added 11 as Baldwin drops to the consolation round to face Saint Louis/Nanakuli at Saint Louis at 6:30 p.m.

Kalaheo took a 10 point lead, 22-12, heading into the second after Gilmore completed a 3-point play and Schutter hit a jumper.

Baldwin whittled the deficit down to four, 24-20 following Evan Manarpaac's steal, but Gilmore scored back-to-back layups and Bostic put Kalaheo back up 10.

Casey Talana's putback was the final points of the half as Kalaheo led, 32-25 at intermission.

Apo kept Baldwin within striking distance with eight quarter points and nailed a 3-pointer to get the Bears within four, 41-37, but Kalaheo responded with a 6-0 run to go back up by double digits.

"We wanted to shut down Trotter. We saw on film, he's a good 3-point shooter. I feel like in the first half, we gave him too many looks, but in the second half, we kinda shut him down a little and I feel that was the key to bust open the lead," Schutter said.

The Mustangs poured on a 10-1 run to close out the quarter with Smith, Schutter, and Gilmore in that order hitting triples for a 57-40 lead entering the fourth.

"We run a five-guard lineup so our best advantage to get out and win is to play fast because that's where our advantages lie," Schutter said.

Kalaheo shot 8 for 11 from the floor and went up by 23 in the final period.

The Mustangs shot 31 of 57 from the field and was 7 for 18 from 3 and scored 44 points in the paint to the Bears' 32.

Kalaheo out rebounded Baldwin, 34 to 26.

Baldwin was seeking its first semifinal appearance since 2022 and will take on Nanakuli in the consolation bracket at 6:30 p.m.

Saint Louis trounces Nanakuli, 60-29, to return to semifinals

The two-time defending state champion Crusaders (25-5 overall) pounced early and outscored the Golden Hawks (18-10 overall) in each stanza for a lopsided quarterfinal win.

Pupu Sepulona led all scorers with 14 points, Shancin Revuelto tallied 13, and Stone Kanoa had eight as Saint Louis makes its third trip to the semifinals.

Sepulona scored six first quarter points for a 15-7 lead then would go up 14 following Keanu Meacham's runner in the second.

The Crusaders held the Golden Hawks to 1-for-7 shooting from the floor in the quarter to take a 24-13 lead at halftime.

Saint Louis outscored Nanakuli, 36 to 16 in the second half and had a 25-point fourth quarter.

The Crusaders blanketed the Golden Hawks as the team shot 10 of 31 (32 percent) from the field and 2 for 11 from 3. Saint Louis tallied 13 steals as Nanakuli committed 23 turnovers.

Blaze Kaululaau scored nine and Ezekiel Donnell added eight as no Golden Hawk players scored in double figures. Second leading scorer Zion Donnell (10.9 ppg) was held to a season-low four points and fouled out with 5:55 left in the fourth.

Nanakuli picked up its first state tournament win, defeating Hilo, 50-45 in Monday's opening round.

Saint Louis beat Nanakuli in the preseason 70-53 back on Nov. 22.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].