HondaReport.com - Boys’ Basketball: Iolani joins Fairley, Mt. Vernon, Montrose in quarterfinals

Boys’ Basketball: Iolani joins Fairley, Mt. Vernon, Montrose in quarterfinals

Three powerful mainland squads notched opening-round wins Monday at the Iolani Prep Classic. Host Iolani, behind Derrick Low’s 30 points, outlasted Hamilton (Ariz.) to advance, as well.

HONOLULU—The Hamilton Huskies had every reason in the world to believe a win over Hawaii’s defending state champion was a possibility.

After all, the Huskies had knocked off a Top 5 team, Desert Vista, recently. The difference against Iolani Monday night, however, was Derrick Low—and more.

Low, a 6-foot-1 senior, poured in 30 points, including 13-of-15 from the free-throw line for Iolani in a 73-56 win. The host team advanced to the second round of the Iolani Prep Classic, where the Raiders will meet Montrose Christian.

In other opening-round games, Fairley (Memphis, Tenn.) defeated Kalani, 75-44, Mount Vernon (N.Y.) downed Mid-Pacific 103-48, and Montrose Christian (Rockville., Md.) toppled Moanalua 77-30.

Action resumes Tuesday with four games. Kalani meets Mid-Pacific at 3:30 p.m., followed by Hamilton and Moanalua at 5. Punahou meets Saint John’s (Washington, D.C.) in an opening-round game at 6:30 p.m., followed by a quarterfinal battle between Iolani and Montrose Christian at 8.

Iolani’s win was a well-earned one against a physical Hamilton squad. The lead was still within reach for the Huskies midway through the final quarter, but Low sparked a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach. Iolani’s fullcourt man pressure was another decisive factor.

“Their defensive intensity was relentless,” Hamilton head coach Kevin Hartwig said. “They got to us. We got rattled.”

Doing plenty of the rattling was Iolani guard Ryan Hirata, who smothered Huskie sophomore point guard Innocent Wells from one end of the floor to the other all game long.

Hamilton, meanwhile, struggled defensively with foul trouble. Hand-check fouls were doled out liberally, and one of the casualties was leading scorer Brian Schaeffer. The senior had 16 first-half points, but sat for a large portion of the second half with four personal fouls.

“I knew he had a couple of fouls in the beginning, so I tried to take it to him,” Low said of Schaeffer. “I know he’s the heart and soul of that team.”

“That was huge. He got his fourth and he had to sit. He went back in but wasn’t as aggressive,” Hartwig said. “But we can’t just rely on him. That’s what we talked about just now. We need other guys to step it up, too.”

Low, the Washington State-bound combo guard, drew raves from the Huskie coach. “Big time players know how to take over,” he said. “And 30 (Kyle Pape) shot the ball real well.”

Iolani made 19-of-22 attempts from the free-throw line. “That was key, too. Good teams make free throws,” Hartwig said.

The Raiders, unbeaten in preseason action so far, had no clue about Hamilton’s tendencies. All they knew was that former Iolani standout—and 1983 State Player of the Year—Mike Fetters is on the Hamilton coaching staff.

“We didn’t know much. We had to come out with a little extra push,” Low said. “Ryan gave us that extra spark defensively.” Hirata added 12 points.

Schaeffer finished with 18 points, with just two after halftime. No other Huskie scored in double figures.

Low scored 14 in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. He also had three of Iolani’s uncharacteristically high eight turnovers. Sharp free-throw shooting (9-of-10) and 60-percent field-goal shooting (12-of-20) helped the Raiders lead 36-34 at the break.

Hamilton was 11-of-23 in the first half from the field, 8-of-13 from the line. The Huskies were 4-of-5 from 3-point range, including 3-of-3 by Schaeffer. He scored 16 by halftime.

Brian Schaeffer, a 6-2 guard, spent most of the half covering Low. The Huskies also used a 1-2-2 zone to offset Iolani’s 3-point bombers.

Iolani stayed with a man defense except for a stint in the second quarter, when the Raiders went to a 2-3 zone that gave Hamilton some discomfort.

There were nine lead changes in the first half. Hamilton’s last lead, 33-32, came on a drive for a 3-point play by Schaeffer with 1:18 left in the half.

The tide shifted in the third quarter. Hamilton’s offense struggled; Schaeffer managed just one bucket in the quarter. Pape, meanwhile, got open in the corner for a pair of baseline jumpers—both off passes from Low—to propel Iolani to a 52-43 lead with 1:32 left in the third.

The Huskies were within range after Roy Prieto drained a trey from the left corner to cut the lead to 57-50 with 5:53 left in the contest. Iolani then went on a 10-0 run—the last eight coming after the Raiders spread the floor with a four-corner attack. Low drained four foul shots and turned two steals into easy layups as Iolani led 67-50 with 2:42 remaining.

Montrose Christian 77, Moanalua 30—Four Mustangs scored in double figures. Tunji Sorye, a 6-11 center, scored 18 points, while long-range shooter K.J. Matsui pumped in 16, including 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Uche Echefu, a 6-8 forward, added 15 points and Tom Hammonds tallied 12 for Montrose, which shot 53 percent from the field.

Sorye also led all rebounders with 10 in just 18 minutes of action. Sorye and Echefu ran the floor effortlessly and killed Moanalua’s transition defense with long, loping strides that led to easy slam dunks and layups throughout the opening half.

Montrose outrebounded the Menehune 35-23, blocked six shot attempts and had 12 steals. The Mustangs forced 24 turnovers.

Montrose Christian 24 19 21 11 — 75
Moanalua 07 06 06 11 — 30

Mount Vernon 103, Mid-Pacific 48—The Owls were relatively close for most of the opening quarter, 15-10, before a tenacious fullcourt press by the Knights led to an 8-0 run. Mount Vernon, ranked as high as No. 4 (National Prep Poll), never looked back.

Michael Coburn, a 5-11 freshman guard, paced the Knights with 16 points. Keith Benjamin, a 6-2 senior, added 15, and 6-4 senior Shanty Robinson tallied 14. Dexter Gray, a 6-6 senior, also scored 14 for the Knights, who led 49-24 at intermission. The Knights made 12-of-23 attempts from the free-throw line.

Point guard Chris Perry led Mid-Pacific with 11 points, including 5-of-7 from the foul line. The Owls were 19-of-27 from the charity stripe.

Fairley (Memphis, Tenn.) 75, Kalani 44—Four Bulldogs scored in double figures as Fairley dominated the paint in the first game of the tournament.

Fairley will meet Mount Vernon (N.Y.) Wednesday, 8 p.m., in a second-round matchup.

Kalani, which at times showed good ball movement but did not block out well on the boards, will face Mid-Pacific Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. in a losers’ bracket matchup.

Reginald Owens, a 6-6 junior, pumped in 13 points to lead Fairley, which is expected to contend for the Tennessee state championship. Guard Mario Evans, a 5-10 junior, added 12 points, including a one-handed slam dunk on a fastbreak in the fourth quarter. Anthony Mason, another 6-6 junior, chipped in 11 points, and RouSean Cromwell, a 6-10 junior, tallied 10 points.

Carson Chun and Mark Bonner led Kalani with 12 points each. Dustin Umeda added 11 points, including three treys. Chun and Jonah Leoto added two 3-point shots apiece.