MERV LOPES CLASSIC
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Punahou's Miah Ostrowski cut between Montrose Christian's Troy Brewer, left, and Terrell Vinson for two during the first half of a Merv Lopes Holiday Classic semifinal last night.
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Buffs fall to Montrose
Sophomore power electrifies Montrose Christian wherever the Mustangs go.
Last night, it was super soph Tristan Spurlock's 19 points and seven rebounds that sparked Montrose's 69-57 win over Punahou in the late semifinal of the Merv Lopes Holiday Classic at King Armory.
Montrose Christian (10-0), ranked 11th in the nation, will face El Toro (Calif.) in tonight's final at 8:30.
Five of Montrose's six sophomores are in the playing rotation, but it wasn't all about underclassmen. Seniors Adrian Bowie, with 16 points, and Troy Brewer (14 points) were clutch. Bowie shot 7-for-8 for the field, while Brewer was 4-for-8 from the 3-point arc. The Mustangs needed that kind of shooting -- 51 percent as a team from the field -- to withstand the No. 1-ranked team in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.
"They're a good team, not just for Hawaii, but for the mainland," veteran Montrose Christian coach Stu Vetter said. "They shoot well. They're patient. They do a lot of things that good teams do."
Punahou never backed off against the taller, athletic Mustangs, even as Terrell Vinson (10 points) and his teammates threw down occasional dunks against Punahou's pressure defense.
Spencer McLachlin, continuing his stellar play in nonconference tournaments, led Punahou (10-2) with 22 points and seven rebounds. He also had three steals and two blocks.
"They're so athletic, you have to be so precise with everything. If you're off by a hair, it's a steal and they hit a 3," Punahou coach Dan Hale said. "Our guys had some good situations, and a lot of different guys stepped up."
One of them was Kimo Makaula, who scored 14 points off the bench, including a pair of treys. Miah Ostrowski added 12 as Punahou's three-game win streak against mainland schools came to an end.
"It was kinda frustrating," said Ostrowski, who shot 4-for-15 from the field. "We came into this game wanting to win, and we could've done a lot more if we did a better job of boxing out and staying on their 3-point shooters."
Vetter gave his team some clear defensive instructions at intermission.
"Defensively, in the second half, we played well," Vetter said. "We did a poor job in the first half against the ball screen, but we trapped it in the second half."
Ostrowski noticed. "They did a good job scouting us," he said. "They took away a lot of our isolations."
The Buffanblu were down 32-26 when the Mustangs threatened to pull away in the second quarter. Montrose went on a 7-2 run, and when Ostrowski drew his third personal foul with 2:30 left in the half, the Mustangs had a chance to blow the game open.
Instead, McLachlin hit a short jumper, and then hustled for an offensive board and a 3-point bomb from the left wing. That brought Punahou within 39-33 with a minute to go in the half.
El Toro (Calif.) 53, Kalaheo 45
Drew Bruns poured in 24 points as El Toro (Calif.) jolted Kalaheo in the early semifinal.
A pensive crowd at King Armory saw the visiting Chargers advance into the final. El Toro (13-1) will face Montrose Christian tonight at 8:30.
Bruns, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, scored from all over the floor. He hit three of his five 3-point attempts and shot 6-for-8 overall from the field. Drew Hillman added 10 points and five boards for the Chargers, who rely heavily on zone defense -- quite unusual for a mainland team.
Last year, the Chargers had the towering presence of 7-2 David Foster.
"The zone is part of our package. I'll do whatever it takes to be successful," El Toro coach Todd Dixon said. "We watched them play the past couple of days; '31' (Cheynne Lishman) didn't get off. I think he only had one (trey) in the first half."
Kalaheo (9-4), ranked No. 3 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10, shot just 25 percent from the field (13-for-51). The Mustangs were 4-for-21 from the 3-point arc. Clifton Pires led Kalaheo with nine points. Tyler Caswell and Lishman added eight apiece.
Early on, the Chargers used the zone to stay on the boards with the taller Mustangs. Late in the quarter, Matt Ahrens, Ryan Gahan and Bruns drilled 3-pointers to give El Toro a 21-13 lead. As a tactic, the zone was highly successful for El Toro.
Kalaheo pulled within 21-16 by halftime, but got no closer. The Mustangs caught a bad break and a hot Charger squad after intermission. Caswell, Kalaheo's 6-foot-6 center, went down with an ankle injury just 2 minutes into the third quarter. El Toro, scored on a 3-pointer and a backdoor layup by Bruns to go on a 9-2 run.
The Chargers worked patiently against Kalaheo's man-to-man defense and extended the lead to 40-21 before the end of the third. Caswell, icing down his ankle on the bench, did not return.
"The third quarter is where we got nailed," Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado said, noting El Toro's 8-for-14 shooting. "Seven of those were layups, and five of those layups were in transition. We talked about that before the game, that we can't be getting beat back down the floor. These guys can fly."
Lishman, Kalaheo's high scorer through the nonconference slate, struggled to get open looks against El Toro's zone defense.
CONSOLATION
No. 5 Kamehameha-Hawaii 59, No. 8 Baldwin 45
Hogan Rosehill hustled for 16 points and Kealoha Kramer added 15 as the Warriors fought off the Bears in a battle of neighbor-island-league favorites. Kamehameha-Hawaii (10-3) will play Castle today at 4 p.m. for fifth place.
The young Bears raced to a 22-12 lead in the second quarter, but turnovers derailed their progress. The Warriors used a full-court press and long-range shooting by Reece Alnas and Mea Wong to spark a remarkable 24-4 run and a 36-26 lead.
From that point, KS-Hawaii's 1-2-2 zone slowed Baldwin. Chase Nakamura fouled out with 3 minutes left and the Bears behind 48-38.
Nakamura and Kawika Grace led Baldwin (5-8) with 12 points each. John Salmo grabbed a team-high six rebounds. The Bears committed 17 turnovers.
Thompson 72, Waialua 69, OT
Tristan Sealy hit a 3-point shot with 1.2 seconds left to lift Thompson to its first win in the tourney. Sealy scored 36 points on 14-for-30 shooting and also had eight rebounds, five steals, two blocks and six turnovers.
Michael Alexander added 22 points and nine boards in the battle between Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II programs.
Sealy, a 6-3 guard, is averaging 33.7 points per game in the tournament.
No. 10 Mililani 62, Nanakuli 38
Donovan Olmos scored 11 points and Jordan Torres added 10 as the Trojans (8-7) ended a two-game skid. Tyrone Cross led Nanakuli, an OIA Division II team, with 10 points.
Iolani 51, Keaau 46
Liloa Nobriga scored 16 points (6-for-18) and Case Miyahira added 11 as the Raiders escaped with the win. Iolani shot 38 percent from the field (18-for-47) and was outworked on the boards 27-18, but closed the game with a 10-5 run in the fourth quarter.
David Howell hustled for 10 points to lead Keaau (6-4), one of the contenders in Division I of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation. The Cougars also got eight points from Jude Domizio, a 6-5 senior.
Timpview (Utah) 61, Leilehua 27
Michael Salazar made all six of his field-goal attempts as the third-ranked team in Utah lassoed the Mules. Salazar finished with 14 points and Andrew Cusick added nine.
Art Laurel led Leilehua with 14 points.
Castle 67, Hilo 48
Kyle Kia scored 16 points and Malani Lum added 10 as the Knights repelled the Vikings. Castle shot 51 percent from the field (27-for-53).
Kahiau Kapsky led Hilo with 13 points. Nicholas Acosta had 12 points and eight rebounds.