HHSAA Division II BOYS BASKETBALL: Kailua Denies Castle En Route to Division II Title

By Kyle Galdeira

Playing for the sixth time this season, Oahu Interscholastic Association White Conference rivals Kailua and Castle finally got to claim Windward Side bragging rights once and for all.

The Surfriders rode Dylan Farias’ game-high 18 points to a 53-36 victory over the top-seeded and OIA White champion Knights in the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball Division II State Championships tonight at the Blaisdell Arena. Corey Lau and Kenny Ellis each chipped in 13 points for Kailua which avenged its loss to Castle in the OIA White title game last week.

The Surfriders (21-11) jumped out of the gate with a 7-0 run that forced Castle head coach Jeff Hiro to call timeout with nearly five minutes to play in the opening quarter. Lau’s three pointer and lay up early on bolstered the Kailua’s offensive attack.

After a Farias lay up, Lau kept his hot hand, and drained another trey to put Kailua up 12-0 midway through the first period. After Castle erased its goose egg on the scoreboard with two buckets, Lau found Farias with the clock winding down and the guard drained a three pointer to put the Surfriders up 17-4 after one quarter.

Castle (20-7) did not fold, however, and thanks to two Michael Santos three-point buckets, pulled to within 11 points of the lead, 23-12. As the clock ran out to end the half Kevin Aipia drew a foul and hit both free throws to bring the Knights to within to points of the lead, and Kailua took a 25-15 advantage into the locker room at intermission.

Lau paced the Surfriders in the first half with 10 points and three assists. Ellis, a senior forward, pulled down five rebounds and blocked a shot to lead the Kailua defensive attack which held Castle to a dismal 19.6 percent shooting from the field in the half.

The Surfriders continued to attack on the offensive end, and began the third quarter with a 10-0 run to run their lead to 35-15 with 5:25 to play in the period.

But Castle answered with a 7-0 run of its own to keep itself in the game, and Kailua head coach Tim Harrison to call for time halfway through the quarter. The Surfriders rebounded to hold their advantage throughout the remainder of the quarter, and finished the period up 39-26.

Kailua did not let the Knights get within more than 11 points of the lead through the remainder of the game, and held on for its third state basketball crown in school history.

Santos paced Castle with nine points in the contest.