HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Top-ranked Iolani pays back No. 4 Saint Louis
There are no freezers at Iolani anymore, at least not in its air-conditioned basketball gym.
Top-ranked Iolani, casting away stall ball to the cold gusts outside, outscored No. 4 Saint Louis 11-4 in the final 1:47 for a 59-49 victory last night.
"We had some trouble using our stall technique in preseason," said senior guard Ryan Dung, who led Iolani with 15 points. "If we're up and trading baskets, we'll take that."
Iolani (18-6) improved to 8-1 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play and remained just a half-game behind Punahou (9-1 ILH) by avenging its only loss in league play. The Crusaders knocked off Iolani 51-48 on Jan. 13.
Saint Louis, which trailed by 17 in the first half, rallied to within 48-43 in the final 2 minutes but got no closer. The Crusaders dropped to 6-3 in ILH play.
The top two regular-season finishers will earn automatic state-tournament berths. The rest of the league will enter a postseason tournament for third place. The winner of that tourney will travel to the Big Island to play the BIIF's third-place team for a state berth.
Iolani was the aggressor early on against the bigger Crusaders. Dung scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, with most of those points came on fast breaks.
"We wanted to set the tempo, play fast and get buckets in transition," Dung said. "Our defense did a good job forcing turnovers."
Iolani coach Mark Mugiishi turned up the pressure and never let up.
"We made sure to emphasize constant pressure and make the defensive tempo really quick," Mugiishi said. "(Saint Louis center) Scott Smith is arguably the best low-post presence in the state, so we had to create a chaotic rhythm."
"We can't wait until the second half to become aggressive," Crusaders coach Delbert Tengan said. "We didn't handle their pressure out front well."
Liloa Nobriga, at 6-foot-3, was a major factor under the glass against his bigger foes. The sophomore finished with 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds, and also had two blocks on shot attempts by Smith.
"After Scott got a couple of shots blocked, he got a little tentative instead of attacking," Tengan said.
Case Miyahira (11 points) and Taylor Mounts (10) gave the Raiders a balanced scoring attack.
Smith, a 6-7 senior, led his team with 14 points and seven boards. Solomona Aigamaua shot 5-for-6 from the field and finished with 11 points.
The Crusaders shot just 34 percent from the field (18-for-53), including 2-for-14 from the 3-point arc. Kuli'a Aiona, who had 15 points in Saint Louis' previous win over Iolani, had only two points.
The host Raiders shot 55 percent from the field (11-for-20) in the first half. Dung hit a pair of 3s early to spark a 15-4 game-opening run. Iolani's defensive pressure was at full tilt, and the Crusaders turned the ball over nine times by intermission.
Saint Louis, which shot 4-for-19 in the first half, got a bit of spark from reserves such as 6-6 sophomore Siunipa Fiefia, who had four points, two offensive boards and two blocks in the third quarter.
Iolani continued to attack the basket midway through the fourth quarter, but a cold spell gave the pressing Crusaders an opportunity. Smith, Cole Shidaki and Aiona combined on a 6-0 run that brought Saint Louis within 48-43 with 1:47 left.
From that point, however, Nobriga drove for fast-break buckets and Miyahira hit all four of his free-throw tries.
After Dung sank two foul shots, his first points since the second quarter, Iolani led 57-47 with 43 seconds to go. Saint Louis never threatened again.
"We do with our team what they can do well. My style is ball control, which we don't do well," Mugiishi said. "So we keep attacking as long as the point of the attack is to go up strong and draw a foul."
The Raiders have very little time to relax, according to Mugiishi.
"We've got some tough games coming up. We can celebrate this for 30 minutes, then we have to get ready for Maryknoll," he said.
At Iolani H.S. gym
| Saint Louis (6-3) |
6 |
7 |
11 |
25 |
-- |
49
|
| Iolani (7-1) |
15 |
15 |
10 |
19 |
-- |
59 |
SAINT LOUIS--Ricksson Pacarro 0, Kuli'a Aiona 2, John Quindara 0, Lucas Gonsalves 3, Scott Smith 14, Siunipa Fiefia 6, Kyle Gonzaga 0, Cole Shidaki 8, Solomona Aigamaua 11, Geordon Hanohano 0, Michael Tuiloma 2, Micah McClinton 3, Jamison Miller 0, Jacob Barit 0.
IOLANI--Kela Marciel 2, Ryan Dung 15, Case Miyahira 11, Taylor Mounts 10, Liloa Nobriga 14, Lionel Fujioka 0, Berton Wong 5, Bricen McCartney 0, Pablo Warner 2.
3-point goals -- Saint Louis 2 (Gonsalves, McClinton), Iolani 3 (Dung 2, Wong).
Maryknoll 68, Damien 51
Reyn Higa and Travis Liu scored 14 points apiece in the Spartans' victory over the Monarchs.
Anthony Tuitele scored a game-high 19 points for Damien.
At Damien H.S. gym
| Maryknoll (2-6) |
10 |
13 |
13 |
32 |
-- |
68
|
| Damien (0-9) |
3 |
11 |
15 |
22 |
-- |
51 |
MARYKNOLL--Rian Huizingh 2, Reyn Higa 14, Garrick Chock 1, Christian Bueno-Kanei 10, Javen Correia 7, Travis Liu 14, Tim Adora 1, Jordan Ho-Ching 10, Jordan Napoleon 3, Ross Lum 6.
DAMIEN--Nikko Romuar 6, Mitchel Cabreros 0, Anthony Tuitele 19, Aminis Thompson 11, Austin Dawson 0, Kaiakoili Lima 5, Kenneth Rossi Jr. 2, Haku Correa 4, Christian Vasconcellos 4, Sione Tau 0.
3-point goals -- Maryknoll 0, Damien 4 (Tuitele 3, Momuar).
Division II varsity boys
Iolani 62, Le Jardin 32
Kamehameha 50, Hawaii Baptist Academy 39
Leading scorers--Iol: Troy Lee 12, Matt Smith 12. LJA: Joshua Blau 17, Jonathan Kam 12. Kam: Josiah Horner 24. HBA: Dominic Hart 11.
OIA WHITE
Kaiser 64, McKinley 61, OT
Andrew Wingert poured in 22 points and Jake Esteban added 15 as the Cougers held off the upset-minded Tigers in overtime.
Nainoa Lessary scored 25 points to pace McKinley.
At Kaiser H.S. gym
| McKinley (7-4) |
16 |
8 |
13 |
18 |
6 |
-- |
61
|
| Kaiser (10-1) |
20 |
13 |
11 |
11 |
9 |
-- |
64 |
MCKINLEY--Jelani Thabiti 0, Austin Yoon 0, Tilton Kaluna 8, Bryce Ishikawa 0, Ryan Flordeliza 0, Jefferson Pou 0, Julius Borje 1, Earvin Sione 3, Nainoa Lessary 25, Rey Vincent Enanoria 12, Jonathan Lee 4, Ian Paez 0, Isaac Iuta 3, Travis Asing 0, Oliver Diguc 5.
KAISER--Jake Esteban 15, Kalani Calizar 3, TR Phillips 2, Kalua Noa 5, Andrew Wingert 22, Tyler Norden 6, Brannon Wong 1, Jeff Gordon 0, Patrick Twohy 0, Rayce Chun-Ming 8, Salele Aliifua 2, Mychal Nagata 0.
3-point goals -- McKinley 3 (Enanoria 2, Lessary), Kaiser 7(Wingert 4, Esteban 2, Norden).
Junior varsity -- McKinley 53, Kaiser 48
Kalani vs. Thompson, ppd.
The game has been rescheduled to today at 6 p.m at Kalani.
