The road to any state tournament is never easy, but Moloka'i and Lana'i high schools embark on a journey like no other.

When the state Division II girls (tonight) and boys (tomorrow) basketball state tournaments open this week, two of the state's smallest and also most remote schools will add a distinctive small-school feeling to the field. For the Moloka'i and Lana'i teams, being on O'ahu this week is the ultimate reward for a regular season that reads like an adventure with a March Madness feeling.

"I think we overachieved by going to states," Lana'i boys coach Jimmy Fernandez said of his team's first state berth in 24 years. "It's a good sign for our program. I'm happy we're able to travel with another small school (Moloka'i) like ourselves.

"That's a great thing for D-II basketball in the MIL (Maui Interscholastic League)."

Moloka'i High has an enrollment of 400 and Lana'i has less than 200 in grades 9-12. That is the size of one grade level at some O'ahu Interscholastic Association Division II schools.

The Moloka'i boys and girls teams both won the MIL Division II tournament titles this year and are both seeded fourth in their respective state tournaments. The Lana'i boys won the MIL D-II regular-season title in a thrilling, two-day series over Moloka'i to earn their first state berth since 1984.

"Most of us cried because the thought of us going to states was just amazing," Lana'i senior guard Chris Ganer said. "We knew we could beat them. We had to leave everything on the court. When it finally happened, we were surprised.

"It was like, 'ho, we going states.' "

LONG JOURNEY

For Moloka'i, game day begins at 5 a.m. on Fridays when the teams meet and catch the ferry over to Maui. Moloka'i and Lana'i are the only teams on their respective islands and the rest of the competition is on Maui.

The ferry ride can last up to two hours and has been known to turn stomachs. By 10 a.m., the Farmers have arrived at a school gym where they'll be sleeping for the next two nights.

To maximize travel schedules and budgets, Moloka'i and Lana'i usually play opponents on Fridays and Saturdays. It's not ideal, but it's also part of the game.

"It's all about mental toughness," said Moloka'i senior forward Eddie Delos Reyes, whose team played just four home games this season. "It's hard to stay at the gym. We wake up early, get breakfast, get back, practice, can't go back to sleep because of wrestling (practice)."

MARCH MADNESS

It was so loud, players couldn't hear the referees' whistles. When the Pine Lads (9-3) hosted the Farmers (11-2) on Feb. 1 and 2, a standing-room, homecoming crowd turned out for the series with postseason stakes.

"It's a real small version with the same intensity of a Duke-North Carolina game," Pine Lads boys coach Fernandez said. "That type of atmosphere, jam-packed gym, standing room, super loud ... you had to holler at the top of your lungs during timeouts.

"I think it's been a long time any of our sports had been in that position where the whole community shows up and is rooting for you. I feel good for the kids to be put in that environment."

The Pine Lads swept the Farmers for the regular-season title.

"What made us more determined was all the years we did fall short," Lana'i senior Matthew Tan said. "As a team, we're all tired of falling short. We tried our very best and ended up being where we are today."

As for that weekend, memorable doesn't even come close.

"I have no words to describe it," Tan said. "You kind of had to be there to feel what I felt. It was that great of a moment."

NEW HEIGHTS

Past frustrations and tough losses have been reversed into banner seasons for the Moloka'i boys and girls teams, which both won their league tourneys.

"We grew on that to get the MIL championship this year," Moloka'i boys coach Lee DeRouin said of losing to Seabury Hall in last year's MIL D-II title game. "With the guys returning, with the new guys who came out for this year, the experience of getting to there last year has helped a lot."

The two losses at Lana'i forced the team to reevaluate itself. One week later, the Farmers defeated the Pine Lads to win the MIL tournament.

"It was really hard to take that loss," Moloka'i senior Kaden Tabil said. "Looking around, we worked really hard and seeing everybody's faces, it felt like it was the end. We came together and picked (each other) up."

Last month, the Moloka'i girls (12-1) blew a five-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation and lost to Seabury Hall in overtime. Since then, Moloka'i has won eight straight and beat three-time league champion Seabury Hall three times by an average of 19 points.

"It taught us you have to go hard until the end," Moloka'i sophomore Danna-Lynn Hooper-Juario said. "We were supposed to win that game. We weren't disciplined in the end. We came back extra hard the next day. We knew we could beat them."

The Farmers missed the state tournament last year and went 0-2 at states two years ago. That frustration isn't lost on anyone.

"We have five seniors that went (to states) as sophomores when we went down," Moloka'i girls coach Doug Furlong said. "That's kind of motivation for them. Our sophomores and freshmen, they have a long career ahead of them so they understand if they do well, they can continue to do well the next two, three years."

NOT A WEEK IN WAIKIKI

Now that they've made it to states, coaches hope complacency doesn't set in. Fernandez doesn't want his Pine Lads to feel being here is "good enough."

"We remind them the reason to go down is not to experience the tournament, but be able to compete," Furlong said. "We're not going for a week in Waikiki."

But for one week, players can at least sleep comfortably in beds and try to draw on the experiences that have led them here.

"The biggest positive that this has turned out is how close knit the community is," Fernandez said. "It's been overwhelming support and the boys know this. It makes them feel good knowing a small community like this can pull through and have the resources for us to go to states comfortably, not worry about meals or places to stay and transportation.

"It gives me time to just worry about Xs and Os."

Reach Stanley Lee at sktlee@honoluluadvertiser.com.