With a week to dwell on a disappointing end to the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs, the state tournament couldn't come quick enough for Mililani.

After winning the OIA Red West title, the Trojans closed the league tournament with back-to-back losses to Moanalua and Kahuku, leaving them with the OIA's fourth seed while stoking their fire heading into states.

“;It was all we could think about all day, every day,”; senior guard Reginald Griffin said. “;The whole time we thought, 'what if, what if.' But we have to leave that off the court now and just play as hard as we can.”;

Once they returned to the court, the Trojans unleashed their frustration in a first-quarter flurry that propelled them to a 63-51 win over Farrington in the Division I first round of the HHSAA/Hawaiian Airlines Boys Basketball State Championships last night at Jim Alegre Gymnasium.

Griffin opened the game with a 3-pointer on his way to a game-high 17 points and the Trojans turned up the tempo on both ends to bolt to a 21-7 lead over the Governors, the OIA's fifth seed.

The lead grew to 20 in the third quarter before Farrington made a run early in the fourth to close to 52-42 with 4:56 left. But the Governors could not get closer as Mililani advanced to a quarterfinal matchup with top-seeded 'Iolani today at 7 p.m.

“;Iolani's the number one team in the state, they've got quick guards, they all can handle the ball, they play tough defense,”; Mililani head coach Ed Gonzalez said. “;It's going to be a test for us because I know they're going to put a ton of pressure on our guards.”;

Mililani's quest for the OIA title was halted by the losses to eventual champion Moanalua and runner-up Kahuku, providing lessons for the Trojans to take into their preparation for the state tournament.

“;It was because Moanalua shot lights-out against us and so did Kahuku, but we made unforced turnovers,”; Gonzalez said. “;They knew if we played our game the games could have been different.”;

The Trojans took control early against a Farrington team that went 3-9 in the regular season as their pressure on defense fed their transition attack.

“;Everything was clicking, everything was going right,”; Griffin said.

Hassan Richardson added 11 points and the Trojans concentrated on containing burly Farrington center Lancelot Williams.

With the Trojans focused on the interior, guard Jayfrey Damo hit three of his four 3-pointers in the second quarter to keep the Governors within sight of the Trojans. But while Williams still managed to finish with 15 points and 15 rebounds, Mililani answered each Farrington threat.

“;We were doing well, but we got into a lull and started taking bad shots and we started fouling and the game got slow,”; Gonzalez said. “;We just have to clean that up.”;

FARRINGTON— Joel Lanzaderas 2, Gregie Burgos 4, Jeffrey Madarang 4, Paul Solomon 2, Jayfrey Damo 14, Lancelot Williams 15, Ronald Williams 8, Viane Vaina 0, Justin Vele 0, Bernard DeLeon 0, Michael Kelman 2, Chadey Collazo 0.
MILILANI — Brandon Fujinaga 6, Bryson Calma 0, Josh Lenchanko 0, Nick Kunz 5, Ed Ocampo 7, R.J. Griffin 17, Everett Kahoano 2, Joe McGlamery 5, Robbie Griffin 0, Hassan Richardson 11, Trent McKinney 7, Christian Baltazar 0, Forrest Garcia 3, Ryan Jacobs 0, Brady Spiridigliozzi 0.
3-point goals—Farrington 4 (Damo 4), Mililani 4 (Griffin, Kunz, McGlamery, Ocampo).