Baseball
Schools
Schedules
Standings
Stats
Players
Softball
Boys VB
JV boys VB
Girls Water Polo
Flag football
» Football
» Girls Volleyball
» JV Football
» JV/White Girls Vball
» Baseball
» Softball
» Boys Volleyball
» Girls Water Polo
» Flag Football
» JV Boys Volleyball
» Boys Basketball
» Girls Basketball
» Boys Soccer
» Girls Soccer
» JV Boys Basketball
» JV Girls Basketball
» JV Boys Soccer
» JV Girls Soccer
All-Hawaii
Power Rankings
Distinguished Athlete
Newcomer Award
Top Performers
Stories
About SL
Contact
Privacy
Advertise
Kalani Takase | ScoringLiveFebruary 4, 2026, 11:42pm
Wed, Feb 4, 2026 @ Radford
ALIAMANU — Mystique Akina-Watson knew it was his time to step up to the proverbial plate.
After going scoreless for the first 30-plus minutes of Wednesday night's OIA Division I boys basketball title game, Akina-Watson scored Kahuku's final six points to help the Red Raiders topple defending champion Kailua, 35-32.
A crowd of about 500 fans at Radford's James Alegre Gymnasium saw Kahuku record its 12th straight win to lay claim to its first league crown since 2017.
"It means everything," Akina-Watson said of the program's ninth OIA championship.
The Red Raiders did it without their leading scorer, Ronin Naihe (17.2 points per game in OIA contests), who suffered a season-ending wrist injury against Leilehua in the tournament quarterfinals just five days prior.
"We did it for him," Akina-Watson said of Naihe, a Second Team All-Hawaii selection a year ago and the reigning All-OIA East Player of the Year. "He was getting emotional because he couldn't play, but we told him we got his back. We got it for our fans, too. It means everything that they showed up and we're ready to take it back to the north, baby."
In Monday's semifinal win over Nanakuli, Kahuku used a balanced offensive attack that saw four players score in double figures. Wednesday night — in the rubber match against the Surfriders — without a single player in double-figure scoring, the Red Raiders clamped down on the defensive end and limited Kailua — which entered the game averaging better than 60 points a game — to a season low in scoring output.
Kahuku coach Brandyn Akana praised his team's resilience and determination in being able to overcome the loss of Naihe, a versatile 6-foot-5 junior forward.
"Most teams, if that happens, you know, they throw in the towel, but these guys talked and they said, ‘Hey, we still got a great opportunity to do well,' so I'm just proud of them and their grit and how they're able to have different guys step up," Akana said.
Akina-Watson was pivotal on the defensive end of the floor. He held Kailua sharpshooter Maddox Pung (16.3 ppg) to just four points on 2-of-16 shooting.
"That's great. That's our goal, that's my goal. I know I didn't score a lot, but my main goal was to stop him from scoring knowing it would be an easier night, so that's what I did," Akina-Watson said.
The Surfriders shot just 13 of 53 (24.5 percent) from the field, including 3 of 15 on 3-pointers. They grabbed 41 rebounds to the Red Raiders' 32, including 15 offensive rebounds, but were only able to recycle that into eight second-chance points.
"That's been our whole mantra all year was we play tough defense and we force the to take bad shots and then we go and box out and get the rebound," Akana remarked.
Kahuku led 9-8 after the first quarter and stretched it to an 18-12 cushion by halftime. However, Kailua seized momentum in the third quarter, when it outscored Kahuku in the period, 13-2, to take a 25-20 advantage into the final stanza.
The Sufriders led 27-22 after Pung hit a fall-away jumper from 16 feet with 7:19 to play, but Inoke Lloyd converted under the basket on an inbounds play from Akina-Watson at the 4:39 mark, then two possessions later, was on the receiving end of an assist from D.C. Aukusitino, which he turned into a layup in transition to pull his team within a point with 3:57 remains.
Kahuku pulled even 20 seconds later on an Aukusitino free throw and went ahead by two on a Kashus Daley breakaway layup. Joseph Bieniek hit a free throws to pull Kailua within a point before Akina-Watson got to the rim on an isolation play for his first points of the night. That gave the Red Raiders a 31-28 lead with 1:44 left.
The Surfriders had an answer in a deep 3-pointer by Dylan Kunz about 30 seconds later to knot it up at 31. After a Kailua timeout, Lloyd found Akina-Watson, who drove to the basket again and finished a layup to put Kahuku ahead for good with 39 seconds to play.
Bieniek made another free throw with just under 30 seconds left, but missed the back end. The Red Raiders grabbed the rebound off the miss and the Surfriders were forced to foul.
It was Kailua's fifth foul of the quarter, which sent Akina-Watson to the line. He drowned out the deafening noise from the Surfriders' supporters and promptly knocked down both free throws with 17.8 seconds on the clock.
Pung attempted a game-tying 3 but his shot went off the rim. Sebastian Ledda secured the offensive rebound and got the ball to Kunz, who had another look at a 3 in the closing seconds, but was also off the mark.
Akana used the break between the third and fourth quarters to interject some optimism into his bunch.
"After the third quarter, I told them exactly, ‘Hey, they gave us their best shot, now it's our turn.' They hit some big shots, they made some big plays, but I told them the fourth quarter's gonna be key and when you look at it, in the fourth quarter we just played stellar and so I mean, we just gotta stick with it. We could have easily folded, gotten frustrated, but no, the guys continued to battle," Akana said.
Akina-Watson knew the Red Raiders would have to buckle down on defense and get some stops down the stretch.
"We got this drill, it's called ‘five minutes, five stops.' Coach preached that. He was like, ‘Yo, if y'all want it, y'all gotta get it. It's not just gonna be given to us, we gotta work for it.' We worked for it those five minutes, we got back in the game and we sealed it," Akina-Watson said.
While Akina-Watson dug down defensively all night, he knew, when the opportunity presented it, that he would have to impose his will on the other end of the floor.
"Based off experience, I don't want to put a lot of pressure on the younger kids because I'm one of the only seniors on this team so I knew I needed the ball in my hands because I'm more experienced and when I saw that there was holes, I just had to take it," Akina-Watson said.
Akana lauded the leadership of Akina-Watson down the stretch.
"That's Tiki, right? He's our lone senior and he's been with us for four years and he understands, so I'm proud of him that he can leave this program with an OIA championship and hopefully we do more next week," Akana said.
Lloyd led the Red Raiders with nine points. Akina-Watson, Daley and Chauncey Ako contributed six points apiece. Akina-Watson also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and had two assists and a pair of steals.
Kahuku shot 54.5 percent (6 of 11) from the field in the fourth quarter.
Kunz made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for Kailua. Bieniek tallied eight points with six boards and Ledda chipped in seven points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
It was the third meeting between the teams this season. Kailua edged Kahuku, 50-47, in both teams' OIA East opener back on Dec. 23. The Red Raiders returned the favor in the rematch on Jan. 7 with a 56-41 win over the Surfriders.
Kailua (11-2) was seeking a second straight OIA title and its sixth overall.
Late Wednesday night, the HHSAA released the bracket for next week's Hawaii Army National Guard Division I State Tournament. Kahuku (12-1) is seeded second behind defending champion Punahou and will play the winner of Monday's Iolani—Kamehameha-Hawaii first-round game on Wednesday at Kamehameha's Kekuhaupio Gymnasium.
"It's huge, especially for us (to have that bye). This is tough, I mean, to play Nanakuli on one night and to come back two nights later and to play Kahuku — it took a lot out of us — but we'll have five, six days to get some rest and we'll be ready for Wednesday," Akana said.
Kailua will host Leilehua Monday at 6 p.m.
Other first-round games Monday will see Mililani play at Kekaulike and Saint Louis host Nanakuli.
Baldwin is seeded third and will play the winner between the Crusaders and Golden Hawks, while Konawaena drew the No. 4 seed and will take on the victor between the Surfriders and Mules.
The semifinals will take place Thursday at Punahou's Christopher B. Hemmeter Fieldhouse. Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center will host the final day of the tournament on Friday.
Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.
Please consider making a contribution today.
The Kauai Interscholastic Federation is expected to be included in the host rotations of the boys' and...
Athletics administrators from across the state are gathered at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, where the...
Twelve student-athletes from 10 different schools and representing three of the state's leagues were...
Senior setter Bailey Nakanelua was the engine that helped drive the Raiders back to the top of state...
Chargers' setter Marley Ngirmidol named Player of the Year in OIA Division II; Pearl City head coach...
Na Menehune outside hitter Lionel Gannon named Player of the Year and head coach Alan Cabanting named...
