HONOLULU — Trey Ambrozich took his elders’ words to heart and upstart University Lab School made what ensued count.
Ambrozich, the son of former University of Hawaii basketball big man Eric Ambrozich and former Rainbow Wahine volleyball setter Kari (Anderson) Ambrozich, heeded his parents’ words and those of University Lab’s coaches, who all implored the 6-foot-7 junior to go inside against smaller Kailua in the Division I quarterfinals.
“My parents and my coaches told me that I need to get to the rim more, and so that's what I just tried doing today, and it worked out for me a little bit,” said Ambrozich, who scored all 15 of his team’s fourth-quarter points.
He delivered 28 total on 10-for-18 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds as the Junior Bows defeated the OIA champion Surfriders 51-45 at Moanalua on Wednesday night.
Ambrozich hit from distance in the first half, then overpowered Kailua’s front line inside late. He had a key swat and rebound of Surfriders forward Sebastian Ledda in a five-point game with under a minute left.
“He wanted to come out and play in the paint. And he hit some perimeter shots as well, some mid-range stuff,” University coach Ryan Tong said. “When he gets going like that, he's unguardable, almost.”
Koa Laboy, another son of former UH greats (football’s Travis LaBoy and volleyball’s Nohea Tano), grabbed 13 rebounds while Alika Ahu scored 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
In the other D-I quarterfinals, Punahou beat BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawaii, 67-53; Kahuku knocked off MIL champ Baldwin, 56-49; and three-time defending state champion and top-seeded Saint Louis handled Leilehua, 76-57.
University (11-5) and Punahou (11-5) engaged in three down-to-the-wire battles in the ILH and will meet in Thursday’s 5 p.m. semifinal at McKinley while football rivals Saint Louis and Kahuku have the floor for the hoops nightcap at 7. Saint Louis owns nine state titles, Kahuku four, Punahou 11 and University two.
The Buffanblu are without one of their top options in forward Tanoa Scanlan, whose season is over with an injured hand.
“They're still unbelievable. I mean, they're a phenomenal team,” Tong said. “They're well coached, they run their stuff to perfection. Our work is going to be cut out for us, you know. And I'm just kind of worried, after an emotional game like this, that there's no letdown.”
Wing Ethan Chung scored a game-high 18 points while forward Zion White overcame foul trouble to add 16 points and 10 rebounds against KSH.
“It's a team game, so different guys had to step up and try to try to make up that gap,” Punahou coach Darrell Matsuda. “And we did. We didn't shoot the ball incredibly well today, but that's kind of out of character for us. But hopefully the law of averages will work itself out for the next game.”
University is back in the D-I state semifinals for the first time in 37 years; Tong was a guard on the 1987 and 1988 Junior Bows teams that won it all in back-to-back seasons. ULS moved up to D-I this year on a gambit by Tong that his experienced group could handle it, and so far he has been proven correct.
The Junior Bows burst out to a 13-point lead but Kailua (13-1) rallied back into the game on 3s by Nainoa Hirasuna-Kenny and Dylan Kunz.
Hirasuna-Kenny led Kailua with 15 points while Skyler Unten had 10 points, five assists and five rebounds.
University held Kailua’s top all-around player, guard Maddox Pung, to a scoreless night on 0-for-5 shooting.
“We wanted to actually put T-Mac, Todd (McKinney) on him. We thought that that was a good matchup. I was actually surprised that they didn't post up (the 5-10 McKinney), but I think our game plan worked to perfection.”
ULS’ previous six games were played to within one possession, with three of those were against Punahou. The Junior Bows beat Kamehameha on Ahu's basket at the buzzer for the ILH's last state berth, then edged Kamehameha-Maui on the Valley Isle on Monday on LaBoy's buzzer-beater.
All that had Kailua coach Wally Marciel concerned coming into the game. His Surfriders were in only two single-digit games in league play, the last against Moanalua on Dec. 30.
Kailua had half the turnovers of ULS, but its mistakes down the stretch included a free throw wiped out by a lane violation.
“These guys have played tight games all year, right?” Marciel said of the Junior Bows. “So they know how, how to play a tight game, you know? And it’s possession ball in the fourth quarter. Every shot you gotta make, or attempt, at least. You can't miss down here, and then they get a bucket over there.”
It was still a breakthrough season for the Surfriders, who won their first OIA D-I title since 1982.
In Division II, top-seeded Seabury Hall beat Kaiser 75-59; two-time defending champion Kohala, infused with the recent return of Layden Kauka from Utah Prep Academy, routed previously unbeaten Damien, 50-22; Hawaii Prep topped Kauai 59-49; and OIA champ Aiea pushed past Le Jardin, 76-52.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
