KEALAKEKUA – The Cowboys are ready to defend their title.
Kohala’s big three of O’Shen Cazimero, La’akea Kauka and Koby Agbayani combined to score 58 points as the Cowboys put an exclamation point on the end of their regular season, taking down Konawaena on the road by a score of 74-49.
While the Wildcats were able to put up a good fight against the Cowboys’ pesky, high-pressure defense, Kohala was ultimately able to put Konawaena away with a dominant third quarter, outscoring the Wildcats 25-13. Kauka opened and closed Kohala’s scoring in the quarter with bookend 3-pointers: six of 19 points scored in the quarter by the big three, often on fast breaks after a forced turnover.
“We’re a pretty tough team,” said Cazimero. “We’re real committed, real hardworking team. We rely on our defense.”
Taven Hiraishi led the Wildcats with 14 points.
Konawaena will host Hilo on Friday in their BIIF D-I semifinal; tip time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The 7-0 Cowboys, meanwhile will prep for Friday’s BIIF D-II semifinal against Pahoa. While Kohala has already beaten the Daggers 63-13, they’re taking nothing for granted as they begin their postseason run.
“We just take it a game a time, try to get better every day and get ready for the BIIFs,” said Kohala’s head coach Kihei Kapeliela. “We’ve played Pahoa before, but that’s why they play the game.”
As the postseason begins, Cazimero likes his team’s chances to defend their title.
“We have a pretty tough team this year… Last year, we would have had a chance at taking states again. Class of 2021, we’ve been doing this for them. We feel bad; we got a whole season taken away. We’ll do it for them.”
Kohala 20 18 25 11 – 74
Konawaena 12 13 13 11 – 49
Scoring
Kohala: Cazimero 22 points, Kauka 19, Agbayana 17, Neves 7, Hook 3, Libron 2, Hoshida 2, Valenzuela 2
Konawaena: Hiraishi 14 points, Molina 11, Ogata 9, Makanui 7, Prettyman 4, Kainoa Salvador 4