Rice raids Saint Louis

They came from Harlem to conquer a little piece of Hawaii.

So far, so good for the Rice Raiders. Dorvell Carter poured in 16 points and James Stukes added 13 as Rice pulled away in the second quarter for a 61-40 win over Saint Louis last night at the Iolani Classic.

Rice faces Iolani tomorrow.

Stukes, a 6-foot-6 junior, added 11 rebounds and Carter hauled in seven boards. Rice (4-0), ranked No. 10 in the USA Today Super 25, also got a superb performance from UConn recruit Kemba Walker. The senior guard had eight points, nine boards and four steals to spark the high-intensity Raiders defense.

Rice shot just 35 percent from the floor against a rugged Saint Louis man-to-man defense.

"They brought the best out of us," Raiders coach Maurice Hicks said. "It's like a boxing match. It takes time to adjust to a different style. I told my shooters to relax a little bit."

The visitors used a half-court trap to wear down the Crusaders in the second quarter. Saint Louis shot just 2-for-10 from the field in the second, and Carter got hot. The 6-foot-7 senior drilled a mid-range jumper and back-to-back 3-pointers as Rice went on a 12-6 run. The Raiders led 19-13 with 5:34 left in the first half.

Rice led 22-16 at intermission and took complete command with a stifling man defense. Walker took control on both ends of the court, amassing five points, four rebounds, two steals and a block as the visitors went on a 14-3 run. Walker's coast-to-coast drive in traffic gave Rice a 36-19 lead with 1:29 left in the third quarter.

Saint Louis, ranked sixth in the Star-Bulletin Boys Basketball Top 10, had its good and bad spots in a season-opening game. Michael Tuiloma led the Crusaders with nine points. Saint Louis shot 12-for-45 from the field (27 percent) and was 9-for-18 from the foul line.

Two weeks of practice gave coach Delbert Tengan just enough time to get organized, but the Crusaders seemed to run out of gas.

"Our defense was solid in the first half, but we got a little tired," Tengan said. "Fifteen (Walker) has good handles and 1 (Carter) is a good shooter. They complement each other well."

Saint Louis got a late start to basketball because a majority of players were part of the football team, which reached the state final. Tengan is the football team's head coach.

Rice shot just 1-for-14 in the opening quarter, settling for contested 3-pointers. Still, Rice trailed only 7-5 after one quarter.

Rice shot 72 percent from the foul line (23-for-32).

The Raiders won the Iolani Classic in 1998 and 2004.

Mt. Vernon 96, Roosevelt 25

The Knights from New York, No. 15 in the USA Today Super 25 rankings, had no trouble getting past the Rough Riders.

Kevin Jones poured in 22 poins for the winners.

Matthew Kualii-Moe paced Roosevelt with 13 points.

Mason County 76, Leilehua 41

Russ Middleton scored 19 points and Darius Miller added 15 for the Royals from Kentucky.

Art Laurel tossed in 15 points for the Mules.

Iolani 71, Ji Lin 57

The Raiders defeated the team from Northern China, and Taylor Mounts led the way with 13 points.

Qinpeng Wang had a game-high 16 for the Dragons.

Division II

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» Aiea 65, University 58
» St. Joseph 55, Kalani 44
» LeFlore 63, Iolani 43