When Hawai'i's small colleges made the leap from NAIA membership to NCAA Division II, the hope was their basketball success would go along with them.

And for a small state, thousands of miles from the hoops mainstream, Hawai'i's teams had enjoyed a remarkable NAIA run, especially between 1983 and '93.

There was an NAIA national championship (Hawai'i Pacific in '93), a third-place finish (Brigham Young-Hawai'i in '92) and a fourth (Chaminade in '83).

But final fours, never mind a national championship, have been tougher to come by in more than a decade of NCAA Division II membership.

Which is part of what makes BYUH's hosting of the NCAA Western sub-regionals at Cannon Activities Center, beginning Friday, so intriguing.

If there is a team set up to carry the state's banner high and far in Division II, indeed anywhere in the NCAA this season, it is these Seasiders. If there is a breakthrough to be made sooner rather than later, these are the guys who will have to do it.

Let us count the ways: Pacific West Conference champion BYUH, at 25-1, has won 22 games in a row and is ranked third in the country. It is among the top 10 of five major statistical categories, including field-goal percentage (51.2) and rebound margin (+9.4), and returns a tournament-tested team.

And, as a bonus, all of that has not only earned the Seasiders the host role in the four-team sub regional — they open with Humboldt State (20-11) Friday — but will keep them at home in La'ie right up until the elite eight, March 25 to 28 at Springfield, Mass. as long as they continue to win.

Just the setup that should help catapult the Seasiders past the Sweet 16 for the first time in their — or anybody in Hawai'i's — NCAA Division II history.

For all the mastery of PacWest opponents the Seasiders have enjoyed over the years — and head coach Ken Wagner is 115-48, five conference championships and but one finish below third in 10 seasons — making headway in the NCAA Tournament has been arduous.

In that the Seasiders, who are a combined 3-7 in NCAA postseason play, had been the poster player for the local small colleges. Try as they might and as high as they have sometimes been ranked, little had translated into NCAA postseason success.

But last year's surprising BYUH run, which concluded with a 73-67 loss at Alaska-Anchorage in the West Regional Championship game, opened the Seasiders' eyes to the possibilities for this season.

In that the Seasiders have not disappointed, outscoring opponents by an average of 16 points a game in their best showing since that 28-7, NAIA third-place finish of '92. Beginning Friday, they take aim at history, the kind that has been a long time in coming.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.