McKinley, Kohala to meet in Division II semifinals

McKinley's Frank Camacho and Kohala's O'shen Cazimero led their respective teams to wins in the opening round games of the HHSAA Division II Boys Basketball Tournament held at Kalani High School. Greg Yamamoto | SL

McKinley and Kohala are moving on in the HHSAA/Snapple Division II Boys Basketball Championships.

Frank Camacho drove the ball down the court, drawing the Royals' defense just enough to open up a window to make a diagonal pass to Aaron Kwon, who snuck in a layup with 0.3 seconds left to lift the Tigers to a heart-stopping 51-50 win.

The Tigers trailed early but parlayed a 15-0 advantage in the second quarter to take a nine point lead into the break.

That lead swelled to as large as 31-15 midway through the third before the Royals mounted a furious comeback, eventually tying the game with just over seven seconds left in regulation when Jonathan Akaka hit a corner three and was fouled.

Akaka hit the ensuing free throw to give Hanalani the lead, setting the stage for McKinley's last gasp attempt that was answered.

Camacho led all scorers with 26 points and added three assists and a steal.

Hanalani was powered by the trio of Akaka (17 points), Ethan Escobido (16 points) and Cris Harrison (12 points) in the loss.

Cazimero's 27 points powers Kohala past Kauai, 68-64

The Cowboys got all they could ask for from a relentless Red Raiders' squad in a 68-64 win in the first quarterfinal of the evening at Kalani High School gymnasium.

O'shen Cazimero, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, did it all for Kohala, notching 27 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Off the bench, Jeffrey Francisco added 13 points and four assists, while Molonai Emeliano added 10 points and four rebounds for the Cowboys, who led 31-25 at the end of the second quarter.

That advantage slowly dwindled coming out of the intermission, and Kauai actuallly led 45-42 at the 1:20 mark in the third quarter, but Elijah Antonio tied the game back up with a three on the next possession and Cazimero added another triple to close out the frame to give the Cowboys the lead for good.

Keane Tilton scored 20 points and added seven rebounds and four assists for the Red Raiders, who also got 11 points, 14 boards, three blocks and four steals from Ricky Ralston in a losing effort.