Kohala finally captured that elusive BIIF championship with an emphatic victory over Hawaii Prep.
The Cowboys defeated Ka Makani 35-29 for the Division II basketball title on Saturday at Hilo Civic, winning their first league title since 2014.
O’shen Cazimero was an unstoppable force with 21 points, on four layups and 7 of 10 shooting, including 2 of 2 from long range for the Cowboys (9-0), who won the Division II state crown in 2020.
HPA couldn’t do the two things defensively to slow Cazimero: No one could stay in front of the slippery guard or tag enough fouls on Cazimero, who finished with three personal fouls.
Cazimero also added six rebounds and two steals. Laakea Kauka added 11 points, and Logan Neves buried a 3-pointer for the rest of Kohala’s points.
The Cowboys shot 31%, including 5 of 18 from long distance and converted 8 of 11 free throws.
Tre Walker scored nine points on 4 of 10 shooting, hitting one 3-pointer, and Bear Wawner and Braeden Samura each had seven points for HPA (5-4), which shot 33%, including 1 of 12 from 3-point territory and made 4 of 9 free throws.
It was a far better showing than the first time HPA played at Kohala and lost 70-36 on Feb. 10.
Kohala and HPA next play in the Division II state quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 24 on Oahu.
The Cowboys made it interesting because they had ball-handling issues and a lot of misses from the field. They had 16 turnovers and just three assists. But Ka Makani was worse with a whopping 20 turnovers, including seven in the fourth quarter, and just three assists.
Walker and Wawner carried the offense in the third quarter when HPA outscored Kohala 13-6. Walker took his defender off the dribble and connected on a pair of pull-up jumpers. Wawner had two buckets, the last to cut Kohala’s lead to 27-23 entering the fourth quarter.
Cazimero took over in the final eight minutes when the Cowboys kept turning the ball over (seven turnovers). He converted a layup and drew a foul. Cazimero, who made 5 of 7 free throws, buried the free throw for the three-point play and a 30-23 lead with 6:13 remaining.
Samura powered his way under the basket to get HPA within 30-26. Then Cazimero and Walker traded jump shots. The score was 32-27, a two-possession game with 3:50 on the clock.
Cazimero delivered the dagger with a steal and a layup for a 34-27 lead with 2:21 left.
Wawner scored to make it 34-29 with 1:32 to go. Cazimero hit the front end of a 1 and 1 for the final score with 34.2 seconds remaining.
All that remained was for the clock to wind the seconds down before the Kohala faithful, arguably the BIIF’s best crowd, could explode with celebration.
Cazimero, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, opened with 10 points in the first quarter. Walker had the unenviable task of guarding Cazimero, who slashed for two layups and hit a pair of 3-pointers to help Kohala take a 19-7 lead after a fast-paced first eight minutes.
Wawner, who’s slightly bigger than Walker, took over man defense duties against Cazimero from the second quarter, when Ka Makani outscored the Cowboys 3-1. HPA trailed 21-10 at halftime.
Cazimero finished the first 16 minutes with 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting, and Kauka had eight points.