HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Philly school advances to final
Roman Catholic knocks off Vincent in the Iolani semis
After two decades of coaching, Dennis Seddon knows exactly what works in high school basketball.
Iolani Classic
final
Who: Roman Catholic (Pa.) vs. LeFlore (Ala.)
When: 8 p.m. today
Where: Iolani gym
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In Philadelphia's Catholic League, or any league anywhere, Seddon and his Cahillites protect their fortress with defense. Roman Catholic put a lid over the bucket and kept Vincent (Milwaukee, Wis.) scoreless for the entire fourth quarter en route to a surprisingly easy 55-30 win last night at Iolani Gym.
The Cahillites advanced to the final of the Iolani Prep Classic and will seek their first Iolani Classic title since 1995.
"Our object was to make them work for every shot," Seddon said. "I'm very proud of our defense. If it's constant, we're fine."
They've been perfect, though not flawless, with eight wins in eight games. Last night's effort made Seddon smile.
"I was happy with our execution in the halfcourt offense. We've been struggling with that all year," he said.
Bradley Wanamaker, a signee with Pittsburgh, led a balanced Cahillite offense with 11 points and six assists. Maalik Wayns and Will Kirkland added 10 points each, and Brian Wanamaker and Courtney Stanley chipped in with eight points apiece.
Diante Garrett paced Vincent (5-1) with 11 points. Dominique Sharp added eight points and seven boards. As a team, the Vikings shot only 4-for-18 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Roman Catholic had a 35-30 lead after three quarters, but went on a quick 9-0 run to start the fourth. Kirkland's 3-pointer from the left wing gave the Cahillites a 44-30 lead and forced Vincent to call timeout.
The Vikings knocked out last year's tourney champion, Fairfax, on Wednesday, but were out of gas last night. They shot 0-for-9 in the quarter, settling for 3-point shots. The Vikings also committed three turnovers in the fourth.
Roman Catholic shot 8-for-10 in the final quarter and outrebounded the Vikings 10-2.
LeFlore 58, Iolani 27
There is no Christopher Blake Show. Not yet, anyway.
A near-capacity crowd saw Blake score 16 first-half points as the Rattlers overwhelmed the Raiders. The speedy 6-foot-5 guard had eight points and two steals in the opening quarter as LeFlore (Mobile, Ala.) seized command of the tempo and the game.
Derrick Young, a 6-5 forward, also scored eight points in the first 8 minutes as the Rattlers stung Iolani and took a 16-5 lead. The Raiders, an excellent ball-handling team against local competition, turned the ball over 12 times against LeFlore's fullcourt pressure in the first half.
"We'll pressure you off the misses and made shots," LeFlore coach Otis Hughley said, mindful that his team's high-octane defense let down a bit in the second half.
"We hit a wall there," Hughley said of the third quarter. "To play at this tempo over four days is impossible."
LeFlore, which led at intermission 36-9, platooned reserves and starters onto the floor for the rest of the contest. Blake finished with 18 points and four steals, and Young ended up with 14 points. Nick Williams tallied 16 points.
Liloa Nobriga led Iolani with seven points.
"They're just so athletic, quick and long," coach Mark Mugiishi said. "You can't change what they're doing. We'll learn to play with more poise. If you have an opportunity to take a shot, you'll take it. We were just rushing."
The Rattlers are ranked No. 15 in the USA Today Super 25 rankings. They are 15-0 entering tonight's championship showdown with Roman Catholic and will continue to bring the fullcourt defensive pressure.
"I don't know if we can do it against this team," Hughley said of the Cahillites. "But we're gonna try."
LeFlore, which won the Alabama state crown last season with a 29-6 mark, was No. 2 nationally with a 35-0 record in 2004-05. Iolani (7-3), ranked No. 3 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10 poll, will face Vincent in tonight's third-place game.
Kalaheo drops to 0-2 in Vegas
The Kalaheo Mustangs suffered another close loss yesterday at the Vegas Valley Invitational Tournament.
This time, Kalaheo (5-3) lost 71-69 on a buzzer-beating putback by Marshall (Portland, Ore.) in consolation play.
"We made a lot of mistakes, but this team wasn't as good as the team we lost to (on Wednesday)," coach Chico Furtado said.
Tyler Caswell, Kalaheo's 6-foot-6 senior, led the Mustangs with 26 points.
Fairfax 68, Georgetown 40
Chace Stanback scored 23 points and hit all seven of his free throws to lead the Lions past the Hoyas and into today's fifth-place game against White Station.
White Station 66, St. Dominic 49
Jordan Miller led the Spartans with 21 points and Joe Jackson added 15 points in the victory over the Bayhawks.
Kaimuki 60, Kamehameha 54
Beau Albrechtson dropped in a game-high 20 points for the Bulldogs, who also got 14 from Daniel Colon.
Saint Louis 77, Moanalua 58
Scott Smith scored 26 points to lead the Crusaders to the victory.
Radford 67, McKinley 39
The Rams sprinted out to a 22-12 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Antonio Williams led three Radford players in double figures with 15 points.
Mililani 65, Campbell 64
Donovan Olmos led the Trojans with 22 points, while Walter Daniels had a game-high 25 points for the Sabers.