What the Kohala boys basketball team lacked in size it made up for in aggression, beating its much taller counterpart Roosevelt, 70-58, last night in the quarterfinals of the HHSAA/Hawaiian Airlines Boys Division II State Basketball Championships at Kalani High School last night.

Second-seeded Kohala, out of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, plays Kailua in the semifinals tonight at 7 at Kalani.

"We're a running team," said Kohala senior center Kapanai'a Carvalho, who scored a team-high 16 points. "We like to get the ball and push, and try to neutralize their size.

"It was physical in there but we tried to block out as much as we could and get the ball to our guards so we could run."

The Rough Riders sometimes had 6-foot-3 sophomore forwards Kaipo Pale and Asten Koki on the court, while the Cowboys have no player taller than 5-11 (Carvalho and forward Cameron Naihe-Tabiolo).

"It feels really good," Kohala coach Don Fernandez said. "Just coming to the states is an accomplishment.

"Because we are small we have to be scrappy. With our speed and aggression on defense, we wear out the big guys later in the game."

Down 9-7, the Rough Riders scored six straight to take a 13-9 lead behind four points by Koki. A 3-pointer by junior guard Arvin Campollo brought the Cowboys within 13-12, but a hard-fought rebound and putback by Pale made it 15-12 at the end of the first quarter.

The Rough Riders maintained their three-point lead until an 8-2 run over the final 2:23 by the Cowboys, including a putback at the buzzer by Carvalho for a 28-23 halftime advantage.

Kohala, the state's Division II runner-up in 2007, gained as much as an 11-point advantage in the third quarter, led by Carvalho's two 3-pointers.

"They had some guys who shot the ball that we didn't know about," Roosevelt coach Steve Hathaway said. "We had some uncharacteristic turnovers and played into some traps.

"It just wasn't our night tonight. It seemed like there was a lid on the hoop."

Naihe-Tabiolo scored eight points in the first five minutes of the fourth as Kohala (14-0) went up 66-49.

"We play helter-skelter," Fernandez said. "It's fun to watch and fun to play. Not so fun to watch as a coach."

Naihe-Tabiolo scored 14 points and Djavan Cackley added 12 for Kohala.

Pale scored 14 points, senior guard/forward Matthew Moe 12 and senior guard Lowen Kahooilihala 11 for Roosevelt (13-6).

ROOSEVELT (13-6) 15 8 14 21 — 58

KOHALA (14-0) 12 16 18 24 — 70

ROOSEVELT — Bobby Chun 2, Matthew Moe 12, Brandon Mitchell 2, Chase Yogi 3, Reid Oshiro 5, Lowen Kahooilihala 11, Kaipo Pale 14, Asten Koki 7, Johnson Delos Santos 2, Chaz Francisco 0. Totals 21 12-25 58.

KOHALA — Kapanai'a Carvalho 16, Cameron Naihe-Tabiolo 14, Djavan Cackley 12, John Allan Antonio 9, Arvin Campollo 6, Brandon Bautista 6, Sean Brannigan 5, Kelson Kawai 2, Zachary Valenzuela 0. Totals 29 7-19 70.

3-point goals: Roosevelt 4 (Kahooilihala 2, Yogi 1, Oshiro 1). Kohala 5 (Campollo 2, Carvalho 2, Cackley 1).

OTHER QUARTERFINALS

KAILUA 59, NO. 3 HAWAI'I BAPTIST 46

Even though its overall performance didn't please Kailua boys basketball coach Tim Harrison, it was enough for a Surfriders' upset of Hawai'i Baptist last night at Kalani High School.

"Overall we didn't play well in the game," Harrison said. "We'd better Friday or we won't be moving on.

"I thought we rebounded well."

Kailua junior guard Corey Lau led the Surfriders with 14 points, and senior forward Alii Kaiama contributed 11, and senior forward Kenny Ellis and senior guard Kauila Miller 10 each.

"We just wanted to play tough defense at the start," Lau said. "We have big guys and we wanted to get it in to them."

Miller and Kaiama each scored eight points in the first half as Kailua (16-3) took a 30-18 lead.

"They came to play," Harrison said of Hawai'i Baptist. "We were just a little bigger and stronger inside, and we match up well with their guards."

Consecutive lay-ups in a one-minute span by Lau and sophomore forward Rhys Nakakura early in the third extended the Surfriders' lead to 36-20.

"As we went into the locker room, coach told us the game wasn't over," Lau said. "We took this team as if they were the No. 1 team out of the ILH so we knew they were very good."

After a free throw by Hawai'i Baptist (13-2) senior guard Reid Morihara the Surfriders went on an 8-2 run for a 46-23 lead with less than a minute left in the third.

Eagles junior guard Christian Morimoto scored 15 points and senior center Kyle Barretta added 10.

KAILUA (16-3) 13 17 18 11 — 59

HAWAI'I BAPTIST (13-2) 8 10 9 19 — 46

KAILUA — Chevy Mikaele 4, Rhys Nakakura 6, Kauila Miller 10, Dylan Farias 4, Kenny Ellis 10, Corey Lau 14, Alii Kaiama 11, Calen Friel 0, Luis Valenzuela 0, Tesi Fisilau 0, Jordan DeCorte 0. Totals 23 10-19 59.

HAWAI'I BAPTIST — Shane Sato 2, Bryan Smits 2, Reid Morihara 7, Christian Morimoto 15, Nathan Le 6, Kyle Barretta 10, Landry Kiyabu 4, Ellison Iseri 0, In Sik Seo 0, John Kagehiro 0, Justin Seo 0, Byron Kam 0. Totals 18 7-11 46.

3-point goals: Kailua 3 (Miller 2, Nakakura 1). Hawai'i Baptist 3 (Morimoto 3).

NO. 4 MOLOKA'I 52, PAHOA 48

Senior forward/center Joseph Akaka scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead three players in double figures for the Farmers (13-3) at Farrington.

Junior point guard Herbert Antolin and senior forward/center Kinohi Kelly-Paleka scored 14 and 12 points, respectively, for Moloka'i of the Maui Interscholastic Federation, which plays Castle tonight at 7 at Farrington.

The Daggers (10-5) also had three players in double figures: senior guard/forward Sheyten Waters with 16, senior guard/forward Jonathan Viernes with 12 and junior guard/forward Bryan Miguel with 10.

PAHOA (10-4) 20 10 5 13 — 48

MOLOKA'I (12-3) 12 14 13 13 — 52

Pahoa — Chris Mendoza 3, Jonathan Viernes 12, John Byrd 4, Sheyten Waters 16, Rex Riesta 0, Sonny Miguel 0, Ricky Corpuz 3, Bryan Miguel 10, Dustin Sakoda 0, Isaiah Ekau 0. Totals 18 5-5 48.

MOLOKA'I — Herbert Antolin 14, Joseph Akaka 18, Kawaiola Kalipi 0, Julien Bumatay 0, Kamakana Duvauchelle 4, Alvin Ringor 0, Scottie Rapanot 2, Micah Ritte-Manangan 0, Kinohi Kelly-Paleka 12, KeoniKahoalii 2. Totals 20 10-17 52.

3-point goals: Pahoa 7 (Waters 2, B. Miguel 2, Meendoza 1, Viernes 1, Corpuz 1). Moloka'i 2 (Anotlin 2).

NO. 1 CASTLE 49, KAPA'A 46

Michael Santos scored 15 points, Isaiah Tilton 12 and Nick Tuamoheloa 11 as top-seeded Castle (16-2), the O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion, beat the Warriors at Farrington.

Kekoa Prem scored 16 points for Kapa'a (7-4).

KAPA'A (7-3) 9 18 11 8 — 46

CASTLE (15-2) 9 10 11 19 — 49

KAPA'A — Kekoa Prem 16, Cody Abigania 2, Kekoa Colipano 6, Thomas Gausepohl 4, Duke Pauli 8, Stephen Greenleaf 0, Jin Wu 0, Sean Shigematsu 2, Viliami Masaniai 0, Lewis Lindsey 8. Totals 17 7-16 46.

CASTLE — Michael Santos 15, Russell Ige 0, Nick Tuamoheloa 11, Jensen Ames , Dennis Barientos 2, Isaiah Tilton 12, Adam Canne , Isaac Makekau , Brent Roberts 0, KJ Aipia 1, Jordan Aleki . Totals 19 7-10 49.

3-point goals: Kapa'a 5 (Prem 2, Lindsey 2, Colipano 1). Castle 4 (Tilton 2, Santos 1, Tuamoheloa 1).