HHSAA Boys Basketball
Kohala is king in Division II boys basketball


Michael Lasquero | ScoringLive
February 21, 2020, 8:32pm

  

Fri, Feb 21, 2020 @ Stan Sheriff

Kohala

51

Roosevelt

48

Final 1 2 3 4  
Kohala (12-2, 19-3) 15 13101351
Roosevelt (8-5, 13-8) 12 15 3 1848
Drake Watanabe 13 pts  1 3pm  0/2 FTs
O'shen Cazimero 23 pts  3 3pm  6/7 FTs
Drake Watanabe 9 tot  3 off  6 def
Molonai Emeliano 7 tot  3 off  4 def


MANOA — Shut down the town.

Kohala owns the crown.

The Cowboys made history Friday night when they won their first-ever state title with a 51-48 win over Roosevelt in the Snapple Division II Boys Basketball Championship at Stan Sheriff Center.

Sophomore O'shen Cazimero scored a game-high 23 points with three triples in the win to lead Kohala, who was unseeded in the eight-team tournament as the BIIF runner-up.

"I'm speechless. I have no clue what I'm going to do when I get home. All I know is that I'm going to go home happy knowing that I'm a champ" said Cazimero, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

It was the Cowboys' first title game appearance since 2007. Fittingly enough, it was also the year that first-year coach Kihei Kapeliela joined the program as an assistant coach.

"Everybody just believed. They're like a family," said Kapeliela. "It's all about one goal at the end of the season; this right here."

Kohala led for majority of the night, but the game hung in the balance in a frantic finish in the fourth quarter.

After Roosevelt's Kody Seguancia tied the game at 48 with two free throws with 47.8 in the fourth quarter, Moses Emeliano split a pair at the line to give Kohala a one-point lead with 34 seconds remaining.

Roosevelt's Drake Watanabe was fouled a couple of seconds later after an offensive rebound, but he missed both free throws to keep the score at 49-48.

Kohala had a breakaway layup attempt on the ensuing inbounds play, but the Rough Riders survived the play and regained possession with a chance to take the lead.

Watanabe, who led Roosevelt with 13 points, dribbled around a screen to take a 3-point shot from the left wing, but his shot was off target and the Cowboys were able to secure the victory.

"We just didn't play our game, we gave that one away," said Roosevelt coach Steve Hathaway. "It was just one of those nights. They beat us. We didn't play our best game. They did, they won."

Kohala sophomore O'shen Cazimero puts up a tough layup against Roosevelt in the first half. Kohala sophomore O'shen Cazimero puts up a tough layup against Roosevelt in the first half. CJ Caraang | SL


Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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