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Sat, Feb 4, 2023 @ Saint Louis

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Hanalani

52

University Lab

63

Final	1	2	3	4
Hanalani (6-10, 7-13)	11	8	8	25	52
University Lab (13-3, 23-7)	12	9	20	22	63

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

K. Laboy 14 pts  4/6 FTs

C. Yagin 21 pts  3 3pm  8/8 FTs

T. Ambrozich 11 tot  4 off  7 def

K. Reyes 7 tot  4 off  3 def

D. Mobley 3 ast

C. Yagin 3 ast

Four Jr. Bows scored in double figures to lift University Laboratory School past Hanalani Schools, 63-52, in the ILH Division II single-elimination tournament final at Saint Louis' Clarence T. C. Ching Athletic Center Saturday.

The Jr. Bows (13-3) clinched the league's final state berth for the first time since 2020 and join Hawaii Baptist Academy (11-2) as the ILH representatives in the Heide & Cook/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships starting on Wednesday, Feb. 8 and will face OIA champion and second seed Farrington at Kalani.

"It feels very good. We set a goal at the beginning of the year to win the state tournament. The first step is obviously is to get there. I think we put a lot of work into this. We couldn't finish first place in the ILH, but we got to the tournament and got it done," Koa Laboy said.

Laboy, a 6-foot-3 forward, led ULS with 14 points, six rebounds. Trey Ambrozich used his 6-foot-6 frame to his advantage for a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. Alika Ahu, 6-foot-3 freshman, had 12 points and Kenna Quitan, another freshman, with 10 off the bench.

"I just used my height and broke free from my defender and he wasn't boxing me out so I crashed the boards and I was right there," Ambrozich, whose team had a 33 to 27 edge on the boards.

Hanalani would not back down quietly and turned up the defensive pressure to score off turnovers to open the fourth. Christian Yagin hit a baseline floater and turned to a press and Kevin Reyes scored off a steal. Yagin drained a 3-pointer from the corner and Noah Takahata followed up with a steal and layup around the 7:00 mark for a 9-0 run to trail, 41-36.

"Coach told us that it could be there last game and they're not going to quit and not put their subs in. They're going to come out and lessen the lead we have and bring it to us. I thought we did a good job with their press," Laboy said.

Ahu and Laboy combined to shoot 3-for-6 on their next offensive trips from the free throw line and Yagin cut the deficit back down to five after another triple.

McKinney got to the rim for the Jr. Bows' first field goal and Quitan followed up with two in transition. Ahu's free throws pushed the lead back to double digits.

Takahata and Yagin combined for four points from the charity stripe to get within seven with 3:22 to go but could not get any closer.

Ahu scored in transition and in the final 2:49, the Jr. Bows shot 11-for-16 from the free throw line and made 17 of their 26 attempts in the quarter. The team overall shot 21-for-33 (63.6 percent) from the line.

"We were going to win if just needed to make free throws. We had the game sealed. They came back and it was flustering. I was getting nervous. They took me out for a little bit, but I came back in and hit a couple free throws and it felt good," Ambrozich said, who was 4-for-4 in the quarter.

Yagin, one of three seniors on the roster, led all scorers with 21 points and Takahata added 13 for the Royals, who end their season at 6-10.

The first quarter went through seven lead changes before Aaron Hamada's putback before the buzzer to give ULS a 12-11 edge.

Ambrozich hit a jumper from the free throw line for a 18-15 lead. Kevin Reyes drove it in before Quitan split a pair of free throws. Tanner Kimura tied the game at 19 after converting a baseline inbounds pass from Reyes. Laboy had a turnaround in the paint to give the Jr. Bows a 21-19 lead at intermission.

"They have good players over there. Our strategy was to pound it inside. I think we did a good job doing that. Aaron (Hamada), Todd (McKinney), and Alika (Ahu) did a good job guarding numbers 10 (Takahata) and 11 (Yagin), who are really good players," Laboy said.

Ambrozich opened the third quarter with a putback and Duke Mobley fed Laboy in the paint for two. Ahu had a steal and layup to force a timeout from the Royals to lead, 27-19 with 5:22 to go. Mobley converted an assist from Laboy on the block but Kegan Munden hit a 3-pointer from the left wing.

"Me and Duke, he's a fun guy to play with on and off the court. I love playing with that guy. I think we have some good chemistry coming from last year," Laboy said.

The Jr. Bows broke open the game with a pair of consecutive 3-pointers from the wings. Quitan hit one from the left and McKinney hit the other from the right off a skip pass from Ahu to make it, 39-25.

"Guys hit big shots in big moments. That's what we needed. Our plan was to pound it in and when they collapsed in, we kick it out and put trust in our guards to make big shots in big moments," Laboy said.

"They were ready to play and we had to take it them in the second half. We finally broke away in the second half which is good and we were able to keep the lead," Ambrozich said.

Reyes had a tip-in, but Ambrozich answered with a putback for a 41-27 lead going into the fourth.

ULS shot 20-of-41 (48.8 percent) from the field while Hanalani shot 18-of-49 (36.7 percent).

The Jr. Bows won the first matchup against the Royals on Jan. 3, 56-30.

Hanalani was seeking its first state tournament appearance since 2020.