SALT LAKE—Niko Robben scored a game-high 18 points to lead Maryknoll over Kahuku, 45-23 on the final night of the OIA-ILH Challenge at Moanalua's gymnasium Saturday. "They (Kahuku) were missing their football guys so the score was not indicative of what it should be if they had all their players. As far as us running our packages and defensively we've done pretty well in all of our games so we're trying to touch the ball as much as possible," Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said.

For Maryknoll boys basketball coach Kelly Grant, the past is the past. The Spartans have turned the page on last season's Division I state championship — the school's first in 35 years — and are approaching this season with a clean slate. "It's not fair for me to continually talk about last year's team, so we've moved on," said Grant, who earned All-Hawaii Coach of the Year honors after guiding his alma mater to a 30-2 overall record last year, including a 13-1 mark in league

On a night when the home team shot 9-for-24 from the free-throw line, Punahou fans could’ve had a lot to worry about. Instead, the Buffanblu jolted the visiting Kahuku Red Raiders with six steals in the second quarter to turn a one-point deficit into a 14-point halftime lead. Unseeded Punahou went on to oust Kahuku 64-48 on Monday night in the opening round of the Snapple/ HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship. The Buffanblu shot 54 percent from the field (27-fo

Male Athlete of the Week: Marcus Damuni, Kahuku After a couple of years in the shadows, it's Marcus Damuni's time to shine for the Kahuku boys basketball team. The 6-foot-3 senior center and third-year varsity player has gone from being a role player as a sophomore to "the guy" this season. Damuni netted his eighth double-digit scoring game last Thursday with a game-high 19 points in the Red Raiders' 52-42 win at Kalaheo to close out the regular season. "He played really well

Kamehameha's Braelyn Akana is officially a Rainbow Wahine. Photo courtesy Brendyn Akana. Braelyn Akana was wide awake at 3:30 a.m. as her family made the trek from the North Shore to the Hawaii Convention Center. The Kamehameha volleyball standout signed with Hawaii at the Hawaii Class of 2019 National Letter of Intent Signing Day ceremony presented by Education-1st. In all, 69 seniors signed letters. “From the start of this week, I was super excited. This morning, it was rea

Kamehameha volleyball players and sisters Keonilei, left, and Braelyn Akana get to play one last season together. Photo by Jamm Aquino/Star-Advertiser. Braelyn Akana insists that she is 5-foot-10. She’s actually 5-11, and either way, she will never stop working toward her dreams. One of them is already coming true for the Kamehameha senior. She will play volleyball for Hawaii next season. At 5-foot-9 and skilled in every possible way on the volleyball court, Keonilei Akana is

JAMM AQUINO/JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Kamehameha volleyball players and sisters Keonilei, left, and Braelyn Akana make the Warriors a force. Keonilei, a junior, has committed to USC, while Braelyn, a senior, has committed to Hawaii. They are classic, these sisters who are just one year apart. Braelyn and Keonilei Akana had their normal share of fights growing up, two independent personalities. Braelyn’s favorite film is “The Vow,” a romantic drama. Keonilei’s fave is “Mamma

Kahuku's Ruanui Winitana wrote on Instagram that he is returning to New Zealand. Jay Metzger / Special to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Kahuku’s Ruanui Winitana, a senior guard on the basketball team, has left the school after helping the Red Raiders to a runner-up finish in the Division I state tournament, according to his post on Instagram last week. Winitana was headed back to his native New Zealand. A call to Kahuku coach Brandyn Akana for confirmation was not returned. B

Kahuku's Tolu Smith threw down a two-handed dunk in the OIA final against Kalaheo. Photo by Jay Metzger/Special to the Star-Advertiser. There has never been a player quite like Tolu Smith in the islands at the prep level. At 6-foot-10, he’s neither a pure center or swingman, but a hybrid of both without losing any of the consciousness that makes him impossible to stop on the block. Yes, at the next level, Smith’s triple-threat wing fundamentals will come into play much more o

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM Kahuku center Tolu Smith is the 2018 Boys All-State Basketball Player of the Year. The first time Kelly Grant saw Galen Tolu Smith II really play, it was a revelation. The 6-foot-10 Kahuku senior was more than a center. He was simply, undeniably watchable, a force on both ends of the floor. The length, the energy that Hawaii really hadn’t seen in a hoopster that tall. “I knew he was a skilled post player, but I didn’t realize how quick

MANOA — Third time's the charm and it wasn't even close. After coming up short the past two seasons, Punahou unloaded their frustrations on defending state champion Kahuku, 64-37, in front of a crowd of 2,902 to win the Snapple/HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championships at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I runner-up broke through to win their first state title since 2012 (also against Kahuku) and 11th overall in school histor

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM Kahuku’s Ruanui Winitana (10) passed the ball under Maryknoll’s Isiah Gelacio (3) during the second half of the Division I HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championship semifinals on Thursday. It’s safe to say, finally, that Ruanui Winitana feels at home now. The New Zealand native scored eight points during Kahuku’s game-closing 12-2 run as the unseeded Red Raiders stunned No. 1 seed Maryknoll 49-43 on Thursday night in the semifi

Kahuku's Tolu Smith swats a shot attempt by Maryknoll's Niko Robben in the Division I semifinals. John Lujan | SL MANOA — Tolu Smith and Ruanui Winitana lifted defending state champion Kahuku past top-seeded and No. 1 Maryknoll, 49-43, in the Snapple/HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball Championships semifinals at the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday. The sixth-ranked Red Raiders look to defend their championship on Friday against No. 2 Punahou for the second year in a row. "Feels

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM Kahuku’s Tolu Smith was up to the challenge, blocking the shot of Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Nalu Kahapea. The epic showdown between two of the state’s top big men didn’t quite happen. Tolu Smith did his part, pouring in all 17 of his points in the first half as unseeded Kahuku dominated Kamehameha-Hawaii 62-37 on Wednesday night at Moanalua gym in the quarterfinals of the Snapple/HHSAA Division I Boys Basketball State Championship.

Kahuku's starters got some time to rest on the bench in a blowout win over Kamehameha-Hawaii in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. Photo by Cindy Ellen Russell/Star-Advertiser. It probably would’ve been a 35-point night for Tolu Smith, who had 17 points by halftime in Kahuku’s 62-37 win over Kamehameha-Hawaii on Wednesday. Smith saw sparse minutes in the third quarter before departing for good with 2:24 left in that period and the Red Raiders ahead 41-18. With the sem