The Hawaii Baptist Eagles are all in.
Their 42-34 semifinal win over Hanalani moved them one step closer to a state-tournament berth on Thursday night at Dan Liu Gymnasium. University beat Le Jardin in the other semifinal. Max Wiemken scored 20 points and hauled in 10 rebounds to lead the Eagles (15-12 overall).
“Max was great,” James Payne, the coach of the losing Royals said. “We played tough defense and had a few lapses on offense, but Max is a good player.”
The 6-foot-3 senior was an efficient 6-for-10 from the field and 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.
“We just have to box out every team. We’re a smaller team, so we’re not going to outjump guys. We got those long rebounds,” Wiemken said.
Facing a bigger Hanalani squad, HBA was even on the boards with 24 apiece. Thirteen of those rebounds were on the offensive glass by HBA. The Eagles also forced Hanalani into 20 turnovers.
“We got a lot of the 50-50 balls in the second half, and just played smart. Understood the game situation,” HBA coach George Weeks said. “Hanalani is big. It’s tough for us because we’re size challenged. We just tried to take care of the ball and get good shots. Be disciplined.”
University, led by two-sport standout Leif Fautanu, will host HBA on Saturday, 2 p.m., at Klum Gym for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II tournament championship. The winner will secure the second and final berth into the D-II state tournament. Regular-season winner Damien, the league champion, is already in.
“Yeah, Leif’s a big boy, but we’re going to bang down low like I do all the time,” Wiemken said. “We have a good game plan. We’re going to come in there and execute, and try our best.”
Hanalani (4-11 overall) got plenty of hustle in the paint from 6-foot-2 junior Jonathan Akaka, who finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Cristoffer Harrison, a 6-3 sophomore, added nine points and eight rebounds, and Kona Carruthers had five blocked shots.
HBA led 22-17 at the half. Wiemken sank two foul shots for a 28-20 lead with 3:49 left in the third period. From there, the Eagles spread the court and forced the visiting Royals to chase. Adam Kikuta’s corner 3 at the buzzer, on a pass from Zach Qin, gave the Eagles a 31-22 lead going into the final quarter.
After Wiemken hustled for a follow shot, HBA had its biggest lead, 34-22, early in the fourth quarter. Hanalani got a putback by Harrison to cap an 8-2 run, but the team in purple got no closer than six points.
Despite some tough defense and steals by the athletic Royals, HBA finished strong. Point guard Andrew Ota and Wiemken sank four free throws as the Eagles stretched the lead to 42-30 with 1:17 left.
HBA didn’t shoot well, just 14-for-40 from the field (35 percent), but they used full-court pressure to force Hanalani into those 20 turnovers. The visitors shot 37 percent from the field (13-for-35).
HBA got plenty of open looks from deep against Hanalani’s 2-3 matchup zone, but made just four of 19 3-point tries. The Eagles will need more accuracy against University.
In their previous matchups, ULS won 72-53 on Dec. 18, and HBA won 52-48 on Jan. 19. Wiemken missed the first matchup with an illness.
University 54, Le Jardin 33
Leif Fautanu muscled in the paint for 21 points and 14 rebounds as the Junior Rainbows overpowered the young Bulldogs. Ryder Rebibis added six points for ULS (13-10 overall).
Riley Brunel paced LJA (3-20) with 10 points.
ULS’s meeting with HBA on Saturday for the final state berth will be the first time Fautanu and Wiemken will face each other this season. Wiemken was sick during the first meeting, and Fautanu was playing in the Polynesian Bowl football game during the second matchup.
“Max is a great player. I grew up playing against him,” Fautanu said of the matchup.
ULS won the D-II state crown in 2016, Fautanu’s freshman year.
“The last two years we came up short. This year’s team works hard. Our team is humble and they work hard at practice every day,” he said.
LJA coach Tim Harrison is optimistic about the Bulldogs’ future.
“We’re very young. We start three freshmen and a sophomore,” said Harrison, who coached at Kailua and Radford. “The third quarter, we came out flat. I’m not sure why. But they beat us by 50 the last few times. I’m grateful for small improvements.”