HondaReport.com - Boys’ Basketball: Last-second 3-pointer by backup PG lifts Montrose over Iolani, 42-41

Boys’ Basketball: Last-second 3-pointer by backup PG lifts Montrose over Iolani, 42-41

Finally, it seemed, Iolani’s string of heartbreaking losses in the Iolani Classic was going to end. Inevitably, however, it took a last-second 3-point bomb by a player who had taken just one shot all game to end the Raiders’ title dream.

HONOLULU—In their deepest moment of need, Montrose Christian of Maryland, the No. 7-ranked team in the nation, turned to an unheralded figure from Suzuka, Japan.

Taishi Ito, a backup point guard, answered Montrose’s prayers by drilling a 3-point shot at the buzzer to lift his team to a 42-41 overtime victory over host Iolani Tuesday night. “We didn’t have a time out, but the play was set,” longtime Montrose Christian head coach Stu Vetter said. “Taishi was supposed to hit the sideline guy, but that was cut off.”

Ito wasn’t fazed one bit. “I saw my teammates, but the defense was there,” the 5-foot-10 sophomore said. The Mustangs prepare for last-shot situations all the time.

“We have plays for our ‘buzzer-beater’ at practice,” Vetter said. “Taishi’s shot was not lucky in any way. He’s a terrific player, and he’s our backup point guard.” The starter, Churchill Odia, played in last year’s Iolani Classic. The 6-6 senior is in his home country, unable to get a visa.

The win lifted Montrose Christian into the semifinals, where the Mustangs will meet the Fairley (Tenn.)-Mount Vernon (N.Y.) winner. The game is set for Friday, 6:30 p.m.

In a first-round matchup, Saint John’s (Washington, D.C.) overwhelmed Punahou, 77-50. In consolation play, Mid-Pacific rallied past Kalani, 66-58 in overtime, and Moanalua edged Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) 60-59.

Ito’s trey—a remarkable shot considering it was only his second attempt of the game—ended the home team’s dream of finally winning its own Iolani Prep Classic. Iolani has been eliminated from title contention with one-point losses in three of the last four years.

“It’s tough,” Iolani head coach Mark Mugiishi said. “Actually, if somebody’s going to shoot, I was okay with it being (Ito).”

For Montrose Christian, a regular visitor to the Classic over the years, it was a battle of mutually respectful warriors. “It was a terrific basketball game,” Montrose head coach Stu Vetter said. “I’m elated with the win, but if I had to lose, I’d prefer to lose to Iolani, with the kind of effort and time they put in to make this one of the best tournaments in America.”

It wasn’t for lack of execution or strategy. The Raiders shot 52 percent from the field, led by Derrick Low’s 16-point, 7-for-11 performance. And the Raiders learned at 7 p.m., an hour from tip-off, that they would take Montrose out of its normal run-and-gun pace. Iolani, which is excellent in its late-game, four-corners offense, went to it quite early—in the mid-third quarter.

“We’re not going to play like this against Hawaii teams,” Mugiishi said. “It was a special gameplan for tonight.”

Iolani, which led by eight in the second quarter, saw that lead dwindle. By the time Tunji Sorye made a free throw with 5:03 left in the third quarter, the game was tied at 28.

Iolani, probably the best delay offense team in the state, spread the floor with Low at the point and ran off the final five minutes of the third quarter as Montrose stayed back. With Iolani in severe foul trouble—post men Todd Blankenship and Sean Carney each had three fouls—it was almost expected for Mugiishi to shorten the game. The third quarter ended with a miss from 3-point range by Zach Tollefson. The tempo may have put some in the packed gym to sleep, but the drama was unfolding.

Montrose elected to apply tight pressure at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Raiders made the Mustangs pay. Reserve guard Jon Yasuda drove through the middle and scored on a layup to give Iolani a 30-28 lead with 7:31 to play. Montrose guard Antwan Hardy answered with a 3-pointer from the right corner to give Montrose its first lead since the opening quarter, 31-30, with 7:20 left.

Undeterred, the Raiders spread the floor again and Montrose dropped back. Eventually, Low missed a pull-up jumper from the foul line, and Montrose called time out with 3:50 to play. The Mustangs unveiled their version of a semi-delay, but Hardy turned the ball over as Low came up with a loose ball. Low, in turn, lost possession moments later, but Montrose center Uche Echefu missed two foul shots with 3:05 remaining.

Iolani went to its motion offense and Pape missed an open 3 from the right wing with 2:20 left. That led to a feed from Ito to Echefu for a layup and foul. After an Iolani time out, Echefu made the free throw, and Montrose led 34-30 with 1:59 to play.

Hopes began to fade when Hirata’s pass to Low was tipped by Montrose, and flickered off Low’s fingers. Montrose gained possession of Low’s attempt to save the ball, but a turnover gave Iolani new life. This time, Blankenship crashed the offensive boards and fed to Low, who connected on an open trey from the top of the key. Iolani trailed 34-33 with 58 seconds left.

Ito, who finished with seven points, six assists and only one turnover, made two free throws to give the Mustangs a 36-33 lead with 38 seconds to go.

Pape came through on the ensuing play, taking a pass from Low and swishing a 3-pointer from the left corner to tie the game with 25 seconds left. “We figured he’d spring free. I have great confidence he’ll make that play,” Mugiishi said.

The play is borrowed from the UH-Manoa men’s team, which usually results in a backdoor, alley-oop lob. “We have different variations of it,” Pape said. “I missed a shot 30 seconds earlier; my form was off. Coach had faith in me.”

Sorye, who had 10 points and eight boards, committed his only turnover of the game moments later. His pass from the top of the key sailed through the low post and out of bounds, giving Iolani possession with three seconds to play. Tollefson passed to Pape at midcourt, and Iolani called time out with two ticks left. The next play went to Tollefson, who drove down the left side of the key, but time expired.

Montrose got a bucket from Sorye, a 6-11 senior, and a free throw by Echefu, a 6-8 junior, to take a 39-36 lead. With 2:31 remaining, the Mustangs had the ball, but chose not to eat time off the clock, and Iolani rebounded on the next Mustang miss. Low, who made several acrobatic shots, saved his best for Iolani’s next basket. He drove the left side, challenged Sorye, twisted in mid-air and hit a jaw-dropping layup with his back to the basket and plenty of English on the ball. That cut the lead to 39-38 with 1:58 to go.

Moments later, Echefu committed his fifth personal foul, giving Iolani a chance to take the lead. Low stepped up and hit a pull-up jumper from the foul line over Ito to give Iolani a 40-39 lead with 1:05 left.

With a raucous capacity crowd on its feet, Montrose seemed to be out of luck when Tom Hammonds got stuck in the corner against a trap and passed the ball to the wing. Nobody was there, and the ball bounced out of bounds to the shock of the nearby Montrose bench. Montrose, which began the extra period with just one team foul, waited a long time before hacking. The Mustangs committed their sixth team foul with just 12 seconds remaining, and Iolani called time out.

The Raiders, inbounding from midcourt, got the ball in to Low, and four seconds ticked away before Hardy finally fouled him. Low made the front end of his one-and-one to give Iolani a 41-39 lead with eight seconds left. His second shot hit the front iron and rolled off the back. Without any time outs, Montrose rebounded and got the ball to Ito. The sophomore raced across halfcourt, found nobody open in the corner and post, and dribbled laterally to the opposite wing. He faked, sending an Iolani defender flying by, and launched his winning trey. Time expired as the ball hit net.

“Oh yes, I saw him. I knew he was there,” Ito said. “I shot. I knew it was good.”

For the game, Montrose shot 54 percent (13 of 24) from the field and 60 percent from the line (12 of 20). The Mustangs committed eight turnovers and did not block a shot despite a huge height advantage.

Iolani made 16-of-31 field-goal attempts, including 6-of-17 from 3-point range. The Raiders attempted just seven foul shots, making three. Montrose barely outrebounded Iolani, 19-18, but 12 of its rebounds were on the offensive glass.

The game began with some clutch outside shooting by Iolani. Tollefson, a 6-2 senior, drilled consecutive treys from both wings, leaving Sorye scrambling from one side of the floor to the other. After Ryan Hirata rained in 3-point shots from 25 and 24 feet, Iolani led 12-9. Low hit his first shot, a left-handed layup in traffic, and Iolani led 14-9 with 3:59 left in the opening quarter. S

Montrose, which stayed in a man defense all night, pulled within 15-14 on a pair of free throws by K.J. Matsui. Iolani, using a flex offense, went on a 9-1 blitz. Tollefson’s 16-foot jumper from straightaway—off a pick—made it 24-16 with 2:08 left in the half.

The Mustangs persevered, however, getting a jumper from the left wing by Ito and a 3-pointer from the left corner by Matsui to pull within 24-22 going into the halftime break.

Montrose made defensive adjustments during intermission, taking Sorye off Tollefson and putting 6-4 Hammonds on him instead. Matsui, their best 3-point shooter, was on the bench as the second half began. Low worked the post for two points and sank a jumper from the foul line as Iolani took a 28-24 lead.

A 3-point play by Sorye in the paint cut the lead to one, as Blankenship committed his fourth personal foul. Sorye added a free throw moments later to tie the game at 28, and Iolani spread the floor, setting the stage for Ito’s heroics.

Vetter agreed that this game would have made a great final just a few years ago. “Iolani was prepped for this game. They’re not just a good team for Hawaii, but for any state in America,” he said. “Derrick’s a great player and he kept them in the game. He had to work for every point he got, and he hit a lot of difficult shots.

“Taishi did a great job (defensively) on Derrick all game,” Vetter said of his point guard, who played 31 minutes.

Pape believes the Raiders will continue to elevate their game. “This raises our energy level to another standard. We’re a little sad, but they’re No. 7 in the nation,” the senior said. If the seventh-ranked team in the nation beat Iolani by a point, does that make the Raiders a Top 10 team?

Saint John’s 77, Punahou 50—The Cadets made good on their potential against one of Hawaii’s top teams. Saint John’s rolled to a 12-0 lead and never looked back, shooting 56 percent from the field.

Nolan Smith scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds to pace the Cadets, who will play Wednesday’s Waimea-Fairfax winner Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

Dwayne Anderson, an explosive swingman, pumped in 21 points and grabbed seven caroms. He shot 9-of-13 from the field and had four of his team’s 12 steals. Dante Cunningham, a 6-7 junior, added 12 points.

Jeremiah Ostrowski, a 5-8 senior, led Punahou with 17 points. The Buffanblu trailed 12-0 when Ostrowski drove for his team’s first basket with 4:45 to play in the first quarter. Punahou shot 6-of-20 from 3-point range and committed 22 turnovers against the ballhawking Cadets.

Moanalua 60, Hamilton 59—Eric Keys scored the tying basket and hit an ensuing free throw with two seconds to play, lifting the Menehune in a comeback victory.

Keys, a 6-5 senior, finished with 19 points. The Menes trailed 59-57 with 11 seconds to play when head coach Byron Cheng drew up the pivotal play. Moanalua Darin-Jay Shinagawa inbounded in the backcourt to Jonathan Austad, who made a behind-the-back bounce pass back to Shinagawa. The senior guard motored upcourt and lobbed an entry pass to Keys in the low post. Keys took a dribble and lofted a high-arching shot from five feet away, over a defender, that hit all net. He was fouled on the play, and after a Hamilton time out, drained his free throw to give the Menehune a 60-59 lead with two ticks left.

Keys was a little nervous, he admitted, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. “I try not to look at it like that,” he said. “It felt good to play someone with a different style. We had to do it mentally.”

The Huskies launched a pass downcourt that was batted out of bounds at midcourt with one second remaining. The next inbounds pass glanced off the rim and to the Menehune as time expired.

Shinagawa finished with 14 points, as did Joe Nishimura, who fouled out. Both Nishimura and Hamilton’s Brian Schaeffer, the top guards for their teams, struggled with foul trouble throughout the contest.

Moanalua faltered against Hamilton’s fullcourt pressure in the second and fourth quarters. Hamilton seemed to have momentum after taking a six-point lead late in the contest. Moanalua stayed close, but the Huskies led 57-53 after Schaeffer hit one of two foul shots with 1:01 remaining. Austad hit a pull-up jumper from the right elbow with 45 seconds left and a whistle blew. Officials seemed to ask Cheng if he had called a time out, but Moanalua had none left and he shook his head. The Hamilton bench erupted, asking for a technical foul against Moanalua, to no avail.

The Menehune came up with a steal at midcourt, and Shinagawa drained a 17-foot jumper from the right wing on the fastbreak to tie the game at 57 with 27 ticks left.

Shinagawa inadvertently fouled Schaeffer near the hashmark with 11 seconds left, and the senior hit both of his foul shots to set up the final seconds.

Schaeffer, a 6-2 guard, finished with a team-high 16 points despite missing large chunks of playing time due to fouls. Senior forward Luis Arrieta added 10 points and eight rebounds. Drew Thorson also hauled in eight boards for Hamilton, which had 17 offensive caroms as a team.

It was the second defeat in as many nights for the Huskies. Hamilton pushed Iolani hard, staying close until the fourth quarter in a 73-56 loss Monday.

Moanalua 16 12 12 20 — 60
Hamilton 12 16 14 17 — 59

Mid-Pacific 66, Kalani 58, OT—Chris Perry scored 19 points to lead four Owls in double figures. Mid-Pacific trailed by 18 at halftime, and by 12 in the fourth quarter before rallying behind a fullcourt press.

Josh Mitchell, who scored 17 points, came up with a steal for a breakaway play; his 3-point play cut the lead to 52-49 with 2:01 remaining. The play was pivotal; Kalani guard Dusten Umeda fouled out.

J.D. Lum brought the Owls within one point with a layup, and Mitchell gave them the lead with a follow shot under the glass. Mid-Pac led 53-52 with 1:13 left in regulation. Travis Tyler, who finished with 17 points, hit a free throw to extend the lead to two points with 55 seconds left, but Kalani sophomore Jonah Letoto tied the game at 54 with a pair of free throws and just 33 seconds to go.

Chris Freshour, who tallied 10 points, missed a tough 18-footer from the baseline as time expired.

The overtime stanza began with some confusion. Because of time limitations, officials announced to both teams that the team to score first would be the winner. However, 15 seconds into the period, tourney officials scratched out the format and gave both teams a full overtime of four minutes—minus the 15 seconds elapsed—to play. That pleased a crowd of about 200 on hand for the mid-afternoon game.

Perry proved to be ready, sinking a pair of foul shots and driving for a layup to give the Owls a 58-56 lead with 2:12 remaining. They never relinquished the lead. As a myriad of Falcons continued to foul out, Mitchell scored on a layup off a pass from Ryan Chun. Kellen Kashiwa brought the Falcons within 60-58 with 55 seconds to go, but turnovers did them in down the stretch. Perry hit 6-of-6 free-throw attempts in the final 40 seconds to seal the win.

Jason DeGuzman led Kalani with 12 points. Cory Konishi added 11, and Letoto and Carsen Chun chipped in with 10 apiece.

Mid-Pacific will play Moanalua Friday, 12:30 p.m. Kalani will face Hamilton Friday, 9:30 a.m.