Lunas, Farmers tip off tonight; Na Alii lose opener

By Fred Guzman

The Lahainalaluna and Molokai High girls will get a chance to prove tonight whether they are up their No. 2 seeds in the quarterfinals of the state basketball tournaments.

Led by the high-scoring Maiki Viela, the reigning state player of the year, the Lady Lunas open defense of their Division-I title with a 5 o’clock game against Kapolei at the Radford High gym.

Kapolei advanced by virtue of a 63-31 rout of Pearl City last night.

Led by the inside presence of Kalei Adolpho, Molokai will face Maryknoll in a 7 o’clock game at Kaimuki High. Maryknoll, which competes in the powerful ILH, opened with a 46-35 win over Waianae.

The Lady Farmers have enjoyed great success at the D-II level in recent seasons, capturing the state crown in 2009 and finishing runner-up last season.

MIL D-I runner-up King Kekaulike received a rude reception in the program’s state tournament debut last night.

Na Alii’s lack of experience was exposed in a 58-33 loss to Kaiser. The youthful Kekaulike squad paid dearly for its 32 turnovers and shot jut 31.8 percent from the field.

Taylor Fernandez had 12 points for Na Alii, which failed to convert any of its eight 3-point tries and went 5-for-17 from the free throw line.

Kekaulike next plays today in a 3 p.m. consolation game against Kapolei at the McKinley Gym.

In other D-I action last night, Iolani defeated Nanakuli 55-45 and Kahuku defeated highly-ranked Waiakea of the Big Island 46-42.

In tonight’s other D-I matchups: top-seeded Konawaena tangles with Kaiser, third-seeded Punahou faces Kahuku and fourth-seeded Farrington meets Iolani.

In D-II games last night, Hawaii Prep defeated Hanalani 55-36, Hawaii Baptist beat Honokaa 54-43 and University topped Kalani 55-47.

In tonight’s D-II pairings: No. 1 Radford faces Hawaii Prep, No. 3 Kamehameha-Hawaii meets University and No. 4 Kapaa challenges Hawaii Baptist.

The state tournaments continue tomorrow, with the televised finals set for Friday.

Closer to home, the MIL boy’s tournaments tip off tonight at the Baldwin High gym.

In a D-II play-in game, Lahai will meet St. Anthony at 5:30. That contest will be following by a 7 o’clock D-I showdown between Kekaulike and Kamehameha-Maui.

The MIL tournaments continue tomorrow, with finals set for Friday night.