Even as their lead stretched to double digits, Kailua wanted to remain uncomfortable.

It was only one night earlier that the Surfriders blew a 13-point lead in the semifinals and had to win in overtime. Only toward the end of last night's state championship game did the Surfriders feel a sense of comfort, especially with a state championship trophy in hand.

Dylan Farias scored 18 points, and Kenny Ellis and Corey Lau added 13 each to lead Kailua to a 53-36 win over top-seeded Castle in last night's championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division II Boys Basketball State Championships at Neal Blaisdell Arena.

"We had this little prayer session where one of our leaders told us that you got to get uncomfortable because no lead is too big," Lau said. "We needed to stay uncomfortable, keep pushing and not let up. Castle is a very good team."

Kailua (18-3), unseeded in the state tournament and the O'ahu Interscholastic Association White runner-up, had to win four games in four days — beating three seeded teams — to capture the school's third state title and first at the Division II level. Kailua won state titles in 1972 and 1982 when there was only a one-division format.

"We needed every player on this team to get this," Lau said.

Michael Santos scored nine points, and Nick Tuamoheloa and Brent Roberts added six points each for Castle (17-3), which defeated Kailua on Feb. 28 to win the OIA White Division title. The teams played each other six times this season, with each winning three.

The Surfriders were hot in last night's opening minutes, scoring the first 12 points and utilizing a tough man-to-man defense that at times collapsed on players inside and limited Castle's sharpshooting guards from 3-point range.

Lau scored eight of Kailua's first 12 points and Castle missed its first 10 shots until Roberts scored on a putback with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter.

"We wanted to push the ball and play half-court defense," Kailua coach Tim Harrison said. "Our defense did outstanding tonight."

Farias' 3-pointer made it 17-4 at the end of the first and Kailua extended its lead to 23-6 after Jordan DeCorte's basket inside with 3:07 left in the second.

"We came out flat," Castle coach Jeff Hiro said. "They had more will at the beginning of the game, more determined."

Santos then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Knights a bit of life. Santos added a free throw to cut the deficit to 25-13 with 1:05 remaining and Kevin Aipia sank two free throws with no time remaining to help the Knights close to 25-15 at halftime.

Kailua opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run to lead 35-15 with 5:31 to play after Ellis' layup. But Castle showed some resilience, scoring the next seven points — capped by Santos' layup off a steal — to close to 35-22 and forcing Harrison to call a timeout.

It was that comfort zone that Lau didn't want his team to be in and Harrison knew he had to settle down his players. In Friday's semifinals, Kailua blew a 13-point lead against Kohala before winning in overtime.

"We knew they were going to fight; they weren't going to stop," Lau said. "We just had to continue our presence."

Kailua's guard trio of Farias — the tournament's Most Outstanding Player — Lau and Kauila Miller kept the team together, while Ellis was the Surfriders' big guy inside.

"Our guards are spectacular," Ellis said. "Corey Lau with his quickness; Kauila, he can drive to the basket (and) Dylan ... they all make plays for us."

Ellis' free throw stretched the lead to 39-24 with 2:23 left in the third.

Castle slowly chipped away again, cutting the deficit to 39-28 on Aipia's basket with 6:22 left in the fourth. The Knights then forced back-to-back turnovers and cut it to 44-32 after Tuamoheloa's two free throws with 3:51 remaining.

"They were hanging in there but we couldn't get it into single digits," Hiro said.

Ellis then scored inside, Castle was called for a travelling and Farias drove the lane for a layup that extended the lead to 48-32 with 2:47 remaining. Castle then turned the ball over on its next possession and Kailua inched closer to comfort and victory.

Patience paid off for Ellis, who missed the entire football season after breaking his tibia and fibia. He was held out of some preseason basketball games and is still not 100 percent. He continues to rehab.

"After I got injured, this is what I was looking forward to," he said.

KOHALA 70, MOLOKA'I 55

Cameron Naihe-Tabiolo scored 14 points and Djavan Cackley added 13 to lead the Cowboys past the Farmers for third place in the Division II tournament. Micah Ritte-Manangan led Moloka'i with 15 points.

KOHALA (15-1) 16 19 23 12 — 70

MOLOKA'I (13-5) 5 17 10 23 — 55

KOHALA — Kapanai'a Carvalho 9, Cameron Naihe-Tabiolo 14, Djavan Cackley 13, John Allan Antonio 4, Brandon Bautista 9, Kelson Kawai 4, Arvin Campollo 5, Zachery Valenzuela 4, Dean Snelling 4, Sean Brannigan 4, Weston Cazimero 0, Nathan Trump 0, Christopher Roxburgh 0. Totals 29 8-10 70.

MOLOKA'I — Herbert Antolin 1, Joseph Akaka 9, Kawaiola Kalipi 6, Julien Bumatay 2, Kamakana Duvauchelle-Andrade 0, Scottie Rapanot 6, Ryan Rapanot 6, Micah Ritte-Manangan 15, Kinohi Kelly-Paleka 0, Keoni Kahoalii 7, Alvin Ringor 3, Daniel Espaniola 0. Totals 23 5-14 55.

3-point goals: Moloka'i 4 (Ritte-Manangan 4). Kohala 4 (Cackley, Campollo, Bautista, Carvalho).

PAHOA 47, ROOSEVELT 44

Jonathan Viernes scored a game-high 22 points to lift the Daggers over the Rough Riders for fifth place in the Division II tournament. Chaz Francisco led Roosevelt with 16 points.

ROOSEVELT (14-7) 13 2 14 15 — 44

PAHOA (12-5) 7 12 15 13 — 47

ROOSEVELT — Kainoa Gasper 1, Matthew Moe 2, Brandon Mitchell 7, Chaz Francisco 16, Reid Oshiro 0, Lowen Kahooilihala 2, Kaipo Pale 14, Asten Koki 0, Brendan Nakatani 2, Johnson Delos Santos 0. Totals 16 10-16 44.

Pahoa — Chris Mendoza 0, Jonathan Viernes 22, John Byrd 7, Sheyten Waters 14, Sonny Miguel 0, Ricky Corpuz 0, Bryan Miguel 0, Dustin Sakoda 0, Kaohu Schweitzer 4. Totals 13 16-19 47.

3-point goals: Roosevelt 2 (Mitchell 2). Pahoa 5 (Waters 3, Schweitzer 1, Viernes 1).

DIVISION I

'IOLANI 53, KAIMUKI 50

Pablo Warner scored 16 points, and the Raiders took control in the fourth quarter to take third place in the Division I tournament. With the score tied at 38 and 7:39 to play, 'Iolani went on a 6-0 run and never trailed thereafter. Desmond Tautofi led the Bulldogs with 18 points.

'IOLANI (13-3) 9 14 13 17 — 53

KAIMUKI (15-7) 13 12 11 14 — 50

'IOLANI — Kela Marciel 9, Ammon Baldomera 0, Andrew Skalman 0, Reid Saito 8, Jarrett Arakawa 2, John Foy 0, Kainoa Chu 12, Evan Sukita 0, Brandon Ball 0, Kainoa Scheer 2, Nicholas Christman 2, Gabriel Vega 0, Josiah Sukumaran 0, Adam Ching 2, Jourdan Simmonds 0, Pablo Warner 16, Sealii Epenesa 0. Totals 20 12-14 53. KAIMUKI — Tevin Nishiyama 0, Rafael Vares 0, David Taulung 11, Gabriel Stietzel 6, Jason Nutter 6, Ryan Kakitani 9, Clay Montiho 0, Elijah Morita-Dudoit 0, Chad Kaaihue 0, Dayton Ortiz 0, Desmond Tautofi 18, Kelly Tobin 0, John Vave 0, Mason Kualii-Moe 0. Totals 17 10-14 50.

3-point goals: 'Iolani 1 (Warner). Kaimuki 6 (Stietzel 2, Nutter 2, Kakitani, Taulung).

PUNAHOU 51, KALAHEO 28

The Buffanblu outscored the Mustangs 21-5 in the second quarter to break a 10-all tie en route to a fifth-place finish in the Division I tournament. Matthew Feldman led Punahou with nine points, while Matt Gasparine-Young led Kalaheo with eight points.

PUNAHOU (12-7) 10 21 10 10 — 51

KALAHEO (14-8) 10 5 4 9 — 28

PUNAHOU — Dalton Hilliard 4, Robert Toma 0, Shane Yoshiyama 3, Sean McFadden 0, Henry Cassiday 5, Kimo Makaula 5, Manti Te'o 8, Malik Johnson 7, James Dowsett 1, Matthew Feldman 9, Casey Shibuya 2, Joshua Taylor 2, DeForest Buckner 5. Totals 21 7-13 51.

KALAHEO — Dwayne Mitchell 3, Kevin Leong 0, Richard Haynes 5, Zack Lovelace 0, John Bascuk 0, Christian Kepa 0, Kona Makaula 2, Shane Hipa 2, Shawn Hipa 0, Aaron Fernandez 6, Matt Gasparine-Young 8, Carlos Craig 0. Quincy Mason 2. Totals 10 6-9 28.

3-point goals: Punahou 2 (Feldman, Johnson). Kalaheo 2 (Mitchell, Fernandez).