HONOLULU — As Saint Louis players fell into each other’s arms to celebrate a repeat state boys basketball championship, the Crusaders realized there was a notable absence among them.
Pupu Sepulona had gone to his hands and knees alone on the Stan Sheriff Center court, his face contorted with emotion. Teammates quickly ran over to pick up the sophomore star, without whom the 41-39 victory over talented Campbell on Friday night would not have been possible.
Earlier Friday, Kohala came back on University Lab School, 40-38 in the Division II championship — another thriller won by an exceptionally young team.
After sitting most of the first half with foul trouble, Sepulona, the tournament Most Outstanding Player, hit the shots when it mattered and finished with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 at the line. He scored 11 in the second half.
He, like the rest of the 2023 Crusaders who were on last year’s senior-laden team that ended a 36-year state title drought, was a bit player. Now he’s the maestro on a young team gazing at a future of seemingly vast possibilities.
“This win was so big for us, because at the beginning of the season, nobody would’ve thought Saint Louis would win the championship because we were small. We were inexperienced,” Sepulona said in explaining his emotional reaction. “And we just proved the whole state wrong. … We made a big impact to the whole state that Saint Louis is still on top.”
And yet, Campbell nearly walked away the victor in its first title-game appearance. After the Sabers’ final play was broken up, Crusaders coach Dan Hale threw an arm around his Campbell counterpart Wyatt Tau and offered words of respect and consolation amid a wild celebration by the Brotherhood's faithful.
“We walked in here today and you don’t know what to expect, because (our players have) never really been in these roles,” said Hale, who won his third title including 2008 at Punahou, and helped bring the school on the Kalaepohaku mountainside its eighth. “But they hung in there and they battled their hearts out. And to beat that team playing that way, that was something.”
The Sabers, who outlasted a battle-tested contender, Maryknoll, in two overtimes on Thursday, lost the lead to begin the second half but were within a possession or two the whole way. Campbell fell behind by six in the third quarter, then squared it going to the fourth on Malik Jackson’s buzzer-beating layup.
After the OIA champs fell behind by four on Sepulona’s free throws in the final minute, Jackson connected on an enormous 3-pointer with 22.7 seconds left to set the stage for some dramatics.
Campbell was forced to take fouls. Keanu Meacham calmly made two with 20.8 seconds to go and Campbell’s Joshua Ellis dove in for a layup to make it a one-point game. The Sabers then fouled center Jordan Posiulai, who missed the first but made the second with 4.6 seconds left.
Posiulai, a junior, said he thought about all the times in practice that missed foul shots resulted in sprints for the team.
“I think we proved that it doesn’t matter how old you are, it doesn’t matter the experience, it matters how much work you put into it and what you’re going to get out of it,” Posiulai said.
When Miles Hornage drew Sepulona’s second foul late in the first half, the team leader took a seat and stewed, but also also exhorted his teammates to keep going. His frontcourt mate that he’s known since elementary school, Posiulai, stepped up in that moment and helped the Crusaders get to halftime down a point after Campbell’s Joshua Ellis hit a 3 at the horn.
Posiulai finished with 11 points and four boards.
Sepulona took a charge early in the fourth quarter, risking picking up his fourth foul. It worked out for a player who’d expanded his game significantly since his freshman year, adding more dribble-drive and perimeter shot-making to his nearly unstoppable drop-step game.
Sepulona scored 27 points in a loss to national power Montverde Academy in the Iolani Classic in December, something he ranked a top-two basketball moment along with this championship.
“We played an incredible team,” Sepulona said. “They’re all great players. When (it) came (to the) second half, we had to lock down, take charges, rebound and do whatever it takes to win this game.”
Hale, with the benefit of multiple fouls to give, had his team take fouls tactically in the final minutes the way to slow down Campbell. The Crusaders’ last foul made the Sabers take it out of bounds near midcourt with 2.6 seconds left.
Hornage, the inbounder, tossed it to Ellis near the far sideline, but the pass was partially broken up by Shancin Revuelto, who had four steals on the night. Ellis recovered it, but before he got his shot off, was called out of bounds with 0.4 seconds left. Saint Louis tossed it to the far side of the court, where it was batted down and players streamed from the bench.
The only senior on the roster, Aaron Agliam, celebrated the win on crutches.
Saint Louis faced its third OIA opponent in as many days after edging Kailua in the quarterfinals and pulling away from Moanalua in the semis.
Hornage paced the Sabers with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Guard Mizah Carreira grabbed a team-high seven rebounds but was held to two points.
Campbell center Mason Muaau, facing his former school, had two points and four rebounds in 20 minutes.
“Somebody gotta win, somebody gotta lose. It’s just sad it was us,” said Tau, who guided the Sabers to their first OIA title this year. “But it all depends on how you look at your loss. I lost the game, but I didn’t lose any good memories. I have great memories of this year. I’m so proud of these kids, man. I’m so happy.”
The Crusaders prevailed without the aid of a 3-pointer. They were 0-for-5 from beyond the arc while Campbell was 3-for-8.
It was the last HHSAA final to be played without a shot clock. That will be introduced for next year’s tournament.
The hoops-crazed Kohala community can celebrate once again.
Freshman Layden Kauka hit the game-winner with 4.5 seconds left as the Cowboys prevailed for the second time in the last four editions of the Division II tournament.
Kauka, who’d struggled with his shot for most of the game — he was 5-for-18 from the field — came through when it mattered. He hit a 3 to get his team within a point with a minute left, and after two misses at the line, he recovered to hit a layup to put his team up a point.
When ULS’ Todd McKinney hit one of two to tie it up at 38 in the final seconds, Kohala coach Kihei Kapeliela drew up an isolation play for Kauka, his best 1-on-1 player.
Kauka pulled up from 17 feet and found all net.
“My teammates really encouraged me to keep my head up, and that’s exactly what I did,” Kauka said. “They always believe in me and I love them. I can’t thank them enough.”
Trey Ambrozich’s 3-pointer to win at the other end for ULS was off by a hair.
Kauka’s older brother, Landon, scored a game-high 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
The Cowboys pressed and harassed relentlessly against the much bigger Junior Bows, who led for nearly the entire game. ULS was up four at halftime, by as many as seven points and six near the start of the fourth quarter on two occasions.
“I got a young team right here. A lot of our leaders are freshmen and sophomores,” Kapeliela said, contrasting the group to his experienced 2020 title team. “So, the coaches knew they could do it. It was just a matter of if they knew they could do it.”
Both teams played just six players.
Duke Mobley led ULS with 14 points while Koa Laboy added nine points and 14 rebounds. Ambrozich scored 10 with four blocked shots.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.