Kohala, Seabury to meet once again with Division II supremacy at stake

Greg Yamamoto | SL

For the third time in as many years, the Cowboys and the Spartans will meet with state title implications.

Kohala weathered a late surge by Damien to escape with a 62-56 win in the late semifinal, while Seabury Hall won with relative ease over Pahoa, 76-53, in the opening game at Kaimuki High School, setting up the titlists playing in the final game of the Hawaii Army National Guard/HHSAA Divsiion II Boys Basketball Championships.

A Cowboys-Spartans pairing happened in the title game in 2024 (won by Kohala) and again in the semifinals in 2025 (won by Seabury).

"We fell short last year to the same team we're about to face tomorrow," said senior guard Layden Kauka, who led all players with 31 points. "Just going back (to the title game) and trying to get our get back, our whole team is hungry, so we just gotta bring it tomorrow."

Truth be told, Kohala had to bring it tonight as well, as Damien was more than equal to the task, closing to within just three points at 59-56 with 1:10 remaining in regulation on a Kainoa Santos three. That shot capped off a 15-2 scoring advantage for the Monarchs, who trailed by double digits for much of the contest but kept hanging around.

"We knew they were a great team, they're very scrappy, well coached, so we knew they was going to bring it and we just had to match their energy," said Kauka.

While Kauka's antics were expected, the lift that the Cowboys' got from James Wong, to the tune of 14 total points and four triples, was big.

"For a young freshman like James to come out his first year and show out like that, he's putting a statement on his name," said Kauka of Wong. "It takes pressure off of me and makes teams look out for not just me."

Another key piece to the puzzle was the quiet play of post Estavon Garcia Morales, who scored five points, grabbed eight boards and added two blocks.

"Having (our bigs underneath) it's very important. Without them we wouldn't be able to grab second chance opportunities," Kauka remarked. "He (Garcia Morales) boxes out and grabs (boards), he basically just does all the dirty work for our team."

Damien had four players hit double figures led by Santos' 17. Levi Damo-Agcaoili had 12 points, 10 coming in the second half, and Alani Tuifua and Wyatt Ho-Williams added 10 more each.

The Monarchs out rebounded the Cowboys 31 to 28, but Kohala was nearly perfect at the foul line, knocking down 17 of 19 free throws. Of those, Kauka made 15 of 16.

Defending state champion Seabury Hall jumped out to an early margin and never looked back in a 78-53 win over Pahoa in the first game of the night.

Sebastian Peterson poured in 38 points, hit four threes and pulled down 12 rebounds to pace the Spartans, who led 26-11 after the first quarter.

The Daggers rallied in the second, outscoring the Spartans 21-14 in the period to trim the gap to 40-32, but the Spartans continued to build a house lead-wise, eventually putting the game out of reach via a 24-11 fourth quarter.

Pahoa's Kyran Canete put in yet another workhorse performance, dropping 35 points in the loss. He hit 10 of 11 free throws, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals, all team-highs.

The Spartans got double digit output from Reagan Aguas (14 points, eight rebounds) and Asher Starr (10 points, four rebounds) and Peter Ruegsegger chipped in four points and tied for the game-lead with 12 boards, all defensive.