All the Saints wanted was a little lead down the stretch.

They got that blessing and more. Neumann-Goretti (Pa.) rode 29 points from Tony Chennault and 22 by Tyreek Duran for a 72-65 upset of Montrose Christian (Md.) last night in the semifinals of the 'Iolani Classic.

The Saints will play in today's 8 p.m. final against last night's Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) vs. Yates (Houston) winner.

Neumann-Goretti, of Philadelphia, was the smaller team, but backcourt play won out. Chennault shot 8-for-17 from the field and was fatigued (11-for-20 at the foul line), but the Saints committed only six turnovers and attacked the bigger Mustangs all night. Neumann-Goretti was 24-for-37 at the line. Montrose shot just 11-for-22 as coach Stu Vetter was denied yet another opportunity to win the Classic crown.

“;We just wanted a lead late in the game,”; Saints coach Carl Arrigale said. “;We knew we could get 'em with our guards, but we were worried about their size and strength. My guys kept fighting. Montrose has one of the best coaches in the business.”;

Montrose had a 41-19 advantage on the boards, but couldn't overcome cold shooting (5-for-16) in the final quarter.

Josh Hairston led Montrose, ranked No. 5 in the ESPN Fab 50, with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Terrence Ross struggled from the field (6-for-21), but finished with 15 points and six boards.

Montrose's fortunes sank not long after defensive stopper Justin Anderson got into foul trouble. Without the pestering 6-foot-6 Anderson, Chennault had his way in the second half off the dribble.

“;(Anderson) should've had 50 fouls, the way he played defense,”; Arrigale said. “;They were trying to intimidate us, pushing and shoving.”;

Neumann-Goretti, No. 17 in the ESPN Fab 50, led by eight early, but the third quarter featured 10 lead changes, including an alley-oop slam by Daniel Stewart. Montrose tried to slow the tempo by switching from man defense to a 2-3 zone, but Anderson fouled out with 6:36 remaining and the Mustangs got no closer than three the rest of the game.

Kinston 54, 'Iolani 51

North Carolina recruit Reggie Bullock scored 16 points and Josh Benoit added 12 as the Vikings of North Carolina rallied.

The Raiders led most of the way before the visitors took the lead in the final minutes.

Gonzaga 68, Lutheran 66

Cedrick Lindsay poured in 20 points as the Eagles of Washington, D.C., held off a fourth-quarter rally by the Lancers of Orange, Calif., in a consolation game.

Dylan Rice scored 22 points and Tyler Funk added 21 for Lutheran.

Kamehameha 53, Hamilton 52

Micah Christenson drilled a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left as the Warriors rallied from a nine-point deficit to edge the Huskies of Chandler, Ariz. Christenson led Kamehameha, the defending Hawaii state champion, with 20 points.

Radford 44, Kaimuki 43

JB Fontenot scored 14 points and Isaiah Jackson added 11 as the Rams edged the Bulldogs in a consolation game.

Tevin Nishiyama drained four 3-pointers en route to 15 points for Kaimuki.

Moanalua 65, 'Iolani II 54

Marcus Monroe led Na Menehune to the consolation-game victory with 17 points.

Curtis Martin (19) and Jordan Tottori (17) combined for 36 points to lead the Division II Raiders.

Tsinghua 45, Kahuku 27

Yuliang Hou scored 12 points and Bo Wang added 11 as the Dragons from Beijing held down the Red Raiders in a consolation game.

Sage Kaka led Kahuku with eight points.