Kailua relied on a distinct size advantage and relentless defense to wear down third-seeded Hawaii Baptist 59-46 yesterday in the Division II quarterfinal round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Boys Basketball State Championships at Kalani's Earl C. Holmer Gym.

Two senior forwards, Kenny Ellis and Ali'i Kaiama, served as the pillars of the Surfriders' offense, scooping up rebounds on both ends of the court and racking up high-percentage shots in the paint. Junior guard Corey Lau paced Kailua with 14 points—many coming on outlet passes from the bigs in the middle—while Kaiama and Ellis added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Surfriders advance to face second-seeded Kohala, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II champion, today at 7 p.m. in a semifinal at Kalani.

“;We went inside to Ali'i and Kenny, and they had good interior passing,”; said Kailua coach Tim Harrison, who also voiced displeasure about his squad's overall performance. “;By and large we didn't play well, but we were able to win. I think we're just trying to get to that next game (tonight), and it's going to be a great one against Kohala. They're going to run the floor with us, and we'll see how it goes.”;

Kailua, the Oahu Interscholastic Association White Conference runner-up, went up 10-4 with a little more than 2 minutes to play in the first quarter on an Ellis jumper. Hawaii Baptist answered with two quick baskets, cutting the lead to two, but Surfriders guard Kauila Miller drained a 3-pointer as the first-quarter buzzer sounded to put Kailua up 13-8 after one period.

The Surfriders (19-11) dominated the Eagles in the low post, and gathered a multitude of offensive rebounds, which led to second- and third-shot opportunities. Kailua outscored Hawaii Baptist 17-10 in the second quarter, thanks in part to three short-range buckets from Kaiama, and extended its lead to 30-18 at the half.

“;We had a spurt there where we played good defense, and were able to get some breakaways,”; Harrison said. “;We're not focused like we need to be. Offensively we need to take better shots, but other than that, we did all right.”;

Kailua continued its dominance in the third quarter, using a 13-3 run out of the break to pull away from the Eagles. The Surfriders surrendered only nine points in the period, and after three quarters, held a comfortable 48-27 advantage.

Hawaii Baptist (16-6) finished the game on a 13-4 run, but the deficit proved insurmountable.

Christian Morimoto led the Eagles, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II champion, with a game-high 15 points. Kyle Baretta, a 6-foot-7 senior center chipped in with 10 points for Hawaii Baptist.

Kohala 70, Roosevelt 58

The Cowboys' Kapanai'a Carvalho scored a game-high 16 points in the victory over the Rough Riders.

Kohala plays Kailua in today's semifinals. Kaipo Pale led Roosevelt with 14 points.

Molokai 52, Pahoa 48

Down 30-26 at the half, the Farmers outscored the Daggers 13-5 in the third quarter to outplay Pahoa and advance to today's semifinal game against Castle.

Molokai's Joseph Akaka scored a game-high 18 points on 6-for-13 shooting and added 12 rebounds.

Castle 49, Kapaa 46

The Knights bounced back from an eight-point third-quarter deficit with 19 fourth-quarter points to steal a win from the Warriors.

Michael Santos led the Castle run with 10 fourth-quarter points and finished with team-high 15 points. Santos didn't miss from the free-throw line, going 6-for-6.

Kapaa's Kekoa Prem scored a game-high 16 points, and teammate Duke Pauli added eight points.