Kalani took down defending champion and top-seeded Saint Francis, 54-41, to advance to the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division II Boys Basketball State Championships in the nightcap at Kalani High School gymnasium.

"Saint Francis is really tough team. They're the defending champions and we knew it would be a dog fight coming in," said Kalani head coach Nathan Davis. "We just tried to stick to a game plan, stay aggressive and try and get to the line more, which I thnk we did well."

Falcons' G/F Brandon Roberts led all scorers with 18 points, which included hitting 6-of-8 attempts of the free throw line, and teammate Cory Mitchell hit 10-of-14 free throws en route to 14 points on the night.

Kalani finished the game 19-of-26 from the charity stripe.

Saint Francis led 18-17 after the first quarter, but an 11-6 advantage gave Kalani a 28-24 lead at halftime.

Ranan Mamiya led the Saints with 16 points, including three three-pointers.

Up next for Kalani is a semifinal tilt with Kohala, set for 5 p.m. back at Kalani High School.