Maui Prep boys basketball team earns playoff berth

A highlight for the team this season was their first home game at the Bozich Center for Athletic and Performing Arts. The Pueo achieved a 77-65 win over St. Anthony’s before a sold out crowd on Feb. 7. PHOTO BY RAYCHIN.COM.
NAPILI – In their inaugural Division II Maui Interscholastic League varsity season, the Maui Prep Pueo managed to finish with an 8-5 record and an appearance in the conference championship contest.
After dropping their first four games, the Maui Prep team went on to win eight straight games in propelling them to the MIL playoffs and a showdown with league powerhouse Seabury Hall. The Pueo lost to the Spartans by a score of 76-63 at the Upcountry gym.
The Pueo thus finish their first season with the satisfaction of competing at the top levels of the MIL, as well as the christening of the Bozich Center for Athletic and Performing Arts with a 77-65 victory over St. Anthony’s before a sold out crowd on Feb. 7.
The team was guided by second-year coaches (Maui Prep competed at the junior varsity level last season) Chris Salem and Jorge Ruiz, both longtime West Side youth basketball mentors.
The team roster included seniors Tyler Kirby, Harrison Cramond and Noah Hill; junior Ozzi Doherty; sophomores Dylan Falk, Jimmy Falk, Caleb Chumley, Bennett Bluh and Drew Triplett; and freshmen Mathew Iverson and Kieran McKinney.
“This was a patchwork team of surfers, golfers and cross country athletes that became a unified group of student-athletes in their first year of varsity basketball,” commented Coach Chris last week. “Their performance manifested a newfound spirit and energy that held this team together during a season filled with heartache and personal injuries.”
With just three seniors graduating from the team, the future is indeed bright for the Maui Prep program. And with the opening of the Bozich Center on campus, optimism will reign at the foothills of Napili in the coming seasons.