No. 6 Crusaders round into form vs. Monarchs
POSTED: Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saint Louis could use a few more performances like this one to creep back into the upper echelon of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
Micah McClinton finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Dean Viena scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half as the Crusaders defeated Damien 73-56 last night at McCabe Gym.
The win pushed the Crusaders back to the .500 mark (2-2) in the ILH. Damien (1-4) lost its third straight.
“;You can see that with the more gym time we're getting, we're starting to jell,”; first-year Saint Louis coach Dwight Moniz said. “;I really believe if we can keep this going in our next game against Maryknoll, we'll be tough once the second half of the ILH season rolls around.”;
Football season always cuts the basketball preseason short for the Crusaders, and a bevy of preseason tournaments meant even less practice time heading into the beginning of the ILH season.
Slow starts in the first quarter have killed the Crusaders all season, and last night was no different, as Damien jumped out to a 9-2 lead before Moniz called timeout.
“;He gave us some words of wisdom,”; McClinton said. “;It was a dull night to start.”;
Once the Crusaders picked up their defense, Damien wilted under the pressure. Five turnovers in the final 3 minutes of the first quarter by the Monarchs helped Saint Louis go on a 14-0 run to take a seven-point lead after one quarter.
The Crusaders led by 13 at the break, and poured it on in the third quarter as Viena and McClinton combined for 15 in the quarter to put the Monarchs away.
“;We've done a good job of getting most of our looks inside the paint,”; Moniz said. “;Our shooting has been horrible so far, but if we just get more playing time, those shots will start to fall.”;
Mike Tuiloma added 11 points and Jordan Ilagan had 10 for Saint Louis, which outrebounded the Monarchs 42-19.
“;We're at our best when we're crashing the boards and grabbing offensive rebounds,”; McClinton said. “;That's what can help us the rest of the season.”;
Tim Smith finished with 14 points, six steals and five assists and Tyler Tamayo added 12 for Damien, which forced 26 Crusaders turnovers.
“;Turnovers have been a problem for us, and it's something we'll continue to work on,”; Moniz said.
| Damien (1-4) | 9 | 14 | 19 | 14 | — | 56 |
| No. 6 Saint Louis (2-2) | 18 | 18 | 21 | 16 | — | 73 |
DAMIEN—Drey Dutro-Solomua 1, Marvin Berueda 0, Tim Smith 14, Mark Baay 7, Kevin Aganos 5, JB Ferreira 2, Anthony Tuitele 6, Breyson Lee 0, Trent Valentine 0, Tyler Tamayo 12, Sean Weiskopf 0, Jacob Cachola 0, Lonn Iwashita 9.
SAINT LOUIS—Lucas Gonsalves 6, Marcus Umu 2, Joey Bryant 2, Micah McClinton 14, Dean Viena 14, Acen Cabral 0, Chris Chook 4, Mika Wong 5, Jordan Ilagan 10, Mike Tuiloma 11, Starr Sua-Passi 2, Moses Samia 3, Jaris Popaca-Falefa 0.
3-point goals—Damien 3 (Tuitele, Smith, Tamayo), Saint Louis 1 (Samia).
ILH Division II
Christian Academy 50, Lanakila Baptist 43
Word of Life 54, Saint Louis 52
Le Jardin 67, Lanakila Baptist 62, OT
Hawaii Baptist 53, Word of Life 41
Leading scorers—CA: Jason Ko 23, Michael Urcia 11. LB: Chase Hazelwood 17, Keawe Ochman 17. WOL: Brad Foster 17, Cobey Young-Bailey 12, David Daniels 11. StL: Tyler Akahori 15. LJ: John Whitty 25, Taylor Gray 11, Kalani Soeda 10. LB: Keawe Ochman 26, Chase Hazelwood 17, Christian Oafay 11.
