Maryknoll's Justice Sueing defends a shot by Mid-Pacific's Daniel Florenco in a January 14 meeting between the two teams. The Owls won 45-44. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mid-Pacific boys' basketball coach Ryan Hirata is hoping to have an enjoyable Valentine's Day — and it has nothing to do with his love life.

Hirata's Owls are hoping a run to the state tournament starts Saturday, when they visit sixth-ranked Maryknoll in an opening-round game of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I Boys Basketball Single-Elimination Tournament.

Tip off between sixth-seeded Mid-Pacific (2-8) and third-seeded Maryknoll (5-5) is set for 2:30 p.m. at Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium. Fourth-seeded Saint Louis (5-5) and fifth-seeded Kamehameha (2-8) face off in the other first-round game at Damien Saturday.

The MPI-Maryknoll will visit second-seeded Iolani, while the Saint Louis-Kamehameha winner visits top-seeded Punahou in semifinal games Wednesday. The losers' seasons are over.

"I guess one team will be happier on Valentine's Day and one team will not," said Hirata, the first-year Owls' coach.

Mid-Pacific has lost six of its last seven games, but gave Punahou a scare in a 48-44 loss Tuesday.

"I think we've definitely been through a lot this season," Hirata said, citing season-ending injuries to standout forward Justin Daise and sophomore guard Major Davis. "The rest of the guys are battling, playing hard and doing it the right way, so going in we feel good about how hard we play, it's just a matter of if we can execute."

Junior guard Daniel Florenco (10.2 ppg), junior post Zion Shepherd (8.6 ppg) and sophomore guard Jacen Kimura (8.1 ppg) lead the Owls in scoring.

"They're a feisty group," Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said of MPI. "They play hard. They definitely miss Daise, but Sherpherd has stepped up nicely for them — every time I look at the box score, he's in double-digitals — so they have pieces and we're definitely not going into this game thinking it's going to be a cakewalk. We know that we have to play all 32 minutes."

One of the Owls' two league wins this year came at the expense of the Spartans nearly a month ago. Florenco had 15 points in the 45-44 win, but Hirata said that result is all but forgotten by now.

"It was a good win back then, but both teams are totally different teams now," Hirata said. "We're both improved in our own ways and we have to take that approach into this game knowing that they made their adjustments and we've made our adjustments, so it's a new mindset and it's win or go home. We have to be hungry and willing to put everything on the line."

Maryknoll is led by sophomore guard Justice Sueing (20.2 ppg), who leads the ILH in scoring average. Freshman center Brian Washington (8.3 ppg) and senior guard Michael Miske (6.3 ppg) have also been steady contributors.

"They're as talented as you get throughout the state of Hawaii," Hirata said of the Spartans. "Justice Sueing is one of the best players in the state, their freshmen are good and they have good shooters, so it's really going to be a challenge for us to go up against at sam like that, that is so talented and well-coached."

Like his counterpart, Grant is optimistic about his team's chances.

"We're healthy and that's good," Grant said. "I think the kids have a good understanding of what we're trying to accomplish. That's another good thing. We started winning a little of our games at the end of the season — we won four out of five in the last round — so I like our chances, but we've got to play a good game, play smart, good defense, control the boards and everything should fall into place for us."

Maryknoll, which features five freshmen and three sophomores on its roster, has undergone some growing pains this year, according to Grant.

"I think at the beginning of the season it was a lot of trial and error, but there's been a lot of maturing occurring and I think and this stage, we're a little stronger and the kids have been able to adjust to the physicality of the game," Grant said. "It's going to be a battle and we have to be ready to play, because (the Owls) play too hard, they're a smart team and they're well-coached."

Hirata is hoping his team will put it all on the line come Saturday.

"There's definitely something about being the (last) seed and going in there with nothing to lose, so hopefully the feeling is our guys are going to stick together even more and have to play as a team," Hirata said. "We have to understand that seeds at this point don't really matter as much as how hard we play and execute."

Punahou has already locked up one of the ILH's two state-tournament berths by virtue of winning the regular season. If the Buffanblu also win the single-elimination tournament, it would claim the outright league title.