Honolulu, HI
The final game for the Division 2 Hawai’i Boys Basketball Season went underway at the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center and it would present the Kohala Cowboys and Seabury Hall Spartans, battling it out for the Koa Wood trophy A rematch from last years State semifinal match where Seabury Hall punched their ticket into the Championship game over Kohala and then ultimately winning the State Title. Seabury would cruise past Pahoa in the semifinal matchup, while Kohala would go the distance with a gritty Damien squad. Two squads with history, and only one can lift up the Koa Wood at the final buzzer.
This was a Kohala side that was looking to avenge that loss against Seabury and regain what’s rightfully theirs. After finishing the season undefeated, they looked to make a statement throughout the postseason and not let anyone get in their way of winning a state title. With only one goal in mind, the Cowboys from up North would dominate the Kihei Charter School and defeat a scrappy Damien Monarchs. With only 4 losses in the preseason to D1 schools, the Bowboys knew that they could compete with the best and that would help them in the long run this season. The Cowboys are led by 4 year Varsity Starter, Layden Kauka. The 2 time state champ returned home to Kohala last season during the postseason run after playing with Nationally Ranked, Utah Prep Academy. With what could’ve been a three peat in the state title match, the Cowboys fell short to the Seabury Spartans and knew that this year would be their revenge season.
As for the Spartans, coming off a 13-1 record before the postseason, the reigning and defending D2 State Champs looked to continue off last year success and bring another title back to Maui. The Spartans are led by Senior Guard, Sebastian Peterson, who looked to finish his senior year with another title. The Spartans faced the Cowboys earlier during the preseason. With the Cowboys taking home the W at the time, the Spartans would only lose to 2025 D1 state runner up, St Louis Crusaders and Chaminade Prep before the start of the season. They would finish the season 13-1 and then take on the Waianae Seariders in the opening of the HHSAA tournament and the Pahoa Daggers in semis.
A strong season led both teams to the final destination. With one team looking to go back to back, the other looked to regain what was once theirs and bring their 4th overall state title back to the land of Kohala, HI. The D2 State Championship match started off hot for the Kohala Cowboys. An 8-0 run which led to a big lead was led by Senior Guard, Layden Kauka, who would put on a statement game in his final appearance in a Kohala jersey. Dropping 28 points, the Seabury Hall Spartans had no answers to stop the senior guard and could not find their offensive rhythm from the jump. The cowboys would dominate on both ends of the ball and counter off the mistakes of the Spartans to transition to points on the board.
The Cowboys would dominate the defending champs of Seabury Hall and cap off their season with a perfect record going 15-0 and back on top of the Division 2 standings. The Kohala Cowboys are your 2026 HHSAA D2 Boys Basketball State Champions. Congratulations to the Kohala Boys Basketball Program, School, and Community on an outstanding season.
FInal Score: Kohala 49 - Seabury Hall 39
for more pictures, head over to our photo gallery.
pictures taken by: Kennedy Velasco - @kennnchapo
back on top! KOHALA D2 HHSAA State Champions!
video by: Logan Pactol - @_lowgxn
