HondaReport.com - Boys’ Basketball: Oak Hill leaves no doubt in Iolani Classic title win

Boys’ Basketball: Oak Hill leaves no doubt in Iolani Classic title win

Mount Vernon of New York showed plenty of guts in its battle with the nation’s top-ranked team Saturday night. However, Oak Hill Academy showed why it is the most dominant team in the Iolani Classic, posting an 18-point win over the Knights for the tourney title Saturday.

For the Oak Hill Warriors, taking care of business meant making personal sacrifices.

Fresh and focused in part to an early, daily curfew, the Warriors overwhelmed Mount Vernon (N.Y.), 73-55, Saturday night to capture the Iolani Prep Basketball Classic.

A packed house at Iolani School saw Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) cap a dominant performance in the Classic. Leading the way were Tournament Most Valuable Player Rajon Rondo and Tournament Most Outstanding Player Joshua Smith.

“We came here with a purpose, and that’s why we had an early curfew,” Smith said. The stoic, personable senior said nightly 11 o’clock checks were wise and productive.

“We had to take care of business,” said Smith, who is eager to play for Indiana University next fall.

Rondo, with a Payton-like consistency and skill, was Oak Hill’s floor general. He amassed 25 points and 10 assists, along with four rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in the title victory. Smith, a 6-foot-8 senior who is the subject of NBA draft talk, poured in 23 points and grabbed eight caroms. He also had three blocked shots, helping Oak Hill control the paint with 12 blocked shots and a rebounding edge of 33-20 over the Knights.

Dayshawn Wright added 13 points and seven rebounds for Oak Hill, which overcame 21 turnovers by shooting a whopping 59 percent over a very tough Mount Vernon defense. In fact, Oak Hill’s ability to penetrate—re: Rondo—was a huge factor over the course of the contest.

Keith Benjamin scored 19 points and Dexter Gray added 18 for Mount Vernon, which shot 42 percent (25 of 60) and attempted just three free-throw attempts.

Rondo, penetrating almost at all throughout the tournament, sliced through the Knights’ defense all night. Oak Hill’s penchant for uptempo, Showtime-style basketball led to a plethora of turnovers; Rondo and Smith each committed eight.

Mount Vernon, a quiet, hardworking team ranked fourth the National Prep Basketball Poll and 14th in the USA Today poll, seemed more than able to hang with Oak Hill—at least in the opening quarter.

By the start of the second quarter, however, it was apparent that the Warriors were going to do pretty much as they pleased both on the low post and on the fastbreak. That included defensive transition, where Smith and his teammates hustled back to block several shots.

Oak Hill’s ability to push the ball upcourt put constant pressure on Mount Vernon. During one spurt in the second quarter, the Warriors scored eight points in a row on the fastbreak, with Smith throwing down two pulverizing dunks in a row: a windmill slam and a 180 reverse.

Mount Vernon ran the break, as well—both teams used fullcourt pressure—and stayed reasonably close through the first 12 minutes. By halftime, however, Oak Hill led 35-19 and didn’t look back. Smith had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and point guard Rajon Wright had 12 points and four assists. He also had two blocked shots, three steals and five turnovers by the break.

Oak Hill shot 55 percent in the first half (17 of 31) and outrebounded the Knights, 18-13. Dexter Gray had 10 points at intermission.

Fairfax 49, Montrose Christian 46—Joshua Shipp hit a 23-foot bank shot from the top of the key as time expired, lifting the Lions over the Mustangs in the third-place game.

Shipp, a 6-4 senior, led the Lions with 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting. Jamal Boykin added 16 points in a gritty effort against the taller, shot-blocking Mustangs. Boykins also had eight rebounds.

Tunji Sorye and Uche Echefu, Montrose’s twin towers, scored 13 points each. Sorye had eight rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Mustangs. Fairfax shot just 42 percent—Montrose shot 52 percent—from the field, but stayed in the game by committing only six turnovers. Montrose turned it over 13 times.

Point guard Taishi Ito had seven assists and just two turnovers for the Mustangs.

The game was tight, but Montrose held a narrow lead through most of the second half when a mini-disaster struck.

Antwan Hardy and Shipp collided on the left wing during a scramble with 2:51 remaining. Shipp sustained a sore left shin, but returned moments later. Hardy, a 3-point threat, went to the bench.

Shortly after that, Jerren Shipp tied the game at 41 with a 3-pointer from the left corner. The Lions trapped Montrose point guard Taishi Ito at midcourt on the inbounds pass, and he passed the ball out of bounds for a turnover. Seconds later, Joshua Shipp hit a 14-foot jumper in the paint to give Fairfax a 43-41 lead with 1:16 left.

K.J. Matsui answered with a 3-pointer from the top, giving Montrose a 44-43 lead with exactly one minute to play.

Boykins drove the paint and hit a hook shot. Fouled on the play, he sank a free throw to give Fairfax a 46-44 lead with 40 seconds to go.

Matsui, fouled by Joshua Shipp. Went to the line and sank both ends of a 1-and-1 with 35 seconds remaining to tie it at 46. The Lions held the ball and played for the final shot, but the Mustangs defended the play well.

Joshua Shipp had little room to work with even with a screen just off the top of the key. He used a a spin move to the right and a crossover, but couldn't get free. Finally, he crossed over to his left, then spun past Matsui and forced up a 23-foot off-balance shot that banked in at the buzzer for the win.

Saint John’s 55, Fairley 54—Dwayne Anderson pumped in 26 points, including a plethora of clutch shots in the final quarter, to lead the Cadets over the Bulldogs in the fifth-place matchup. The 6-4 senior also had four rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. Chris Wright, a freshman point guard, added 10 points and eight assists. He had four turnovers.

Andrieus Loftis led Fairley with 24 points on 9-of-shooting from the field. He made 5-of-10 tries from the free-throw line. The Bulldogs shot 43 percent from the field—including 8-of-27 in the first half (31 percent). The Bulldogs stayed in the game by outrebounding Saint John’s, 33-16. Fourteen of their boards were on the offensive glass.

Fairley was extremely lethargic in warm-ups, looking as if it hadn’t slept a wink all night. It was a stark contrast to the Bulldogs’ energy level in Friday’s 15-point win over host Iolani, when they swarmed the court defensively and shot extremely well from the perimeter.

Saint John’s zoomed to an 11-2 lead before Fairley began to show signs of life. The Bulldogs fell behind by 15 before pulling within 26-16 at intermission.

Fairley’s energy finally returned in the third quarter. The Bulldogs pulled within four, but Saint John’s stretched the lead back to eight.

Fairley pulled within three early in the fourth, and Andrieus Loftis hustled for a follow shot to pull the Bulldogs within 37-33 with less than seven minutes remaining.

The lead was down to two when Dwayne Anderson sank a turnaround baseline jumper to give Saint Johns a 41-37 lead with 4:30 remaining. Anderson came through again with a pair of free throws to give the Cadets a 43-39 lead with 3:13 to go.

Anderson scored his fifth point in a row on a free throw with 2:30 left, giving Saint John’s a 44-41 lead.

Loftis responded with a jumper from the left corner, cutting the lead to one with 1:37 left. Cadet freshman point guard Chris Wright sank two free throws, and after a Fairley miss, Jason Wills scored on a fastbreak layup. Saint John’s led 48-43 with 51 seconds remaining.

Anderson returned to the line soon after, sinking two free throws to keep the lead at five, 52-47, with 29 seconds to go.

Loftis kept Fairley’s hopes alive by snagging an offensive board and hitting a 14-footer from the left elbow. The Bulldogs immediately called time out with 18 seconds left, trailing 52-49.

Wright sank a free throw with 17 seconds left to make it 53-49, but Loftius cut the lead back to two with a bizarre play. He drove through the top of the key, jumped past a defender and landed. No call was made, and he sank a 15-foot jumper with six seconds left. Fairley trailed 53-51.

Anderson came through again, catching a long pass and drawing a foul. He sank both foul shots with four seconds left to make it 55-51. The Bulldogs sank a 3-pointer from inside halfcourt to end the game.

Iolani 76, Dr. Phillips 64—Kyle Pape poured in 26 points and Derrick Low had 21 as the host Raiders fought off the Panthers to claim seventh place. Pape made 9-of-13 field-goal attempts as Iolani shot 56 percent from the field.

Zach Tollefson added 13 points for Iolani. Low shot 6-of-7 from the field while being guarded by Florida State-bound Jason Rich. Low, a 6-1 senior who committed to Washington State, made 7-of-8 tries from the line.

Rich, a 6-3 senior, finished with a team-high 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting—while being guarded by Low much of the game. He made 9-of-10 shots from the foul line.

Iolani was outrebounded, 24-15, but committed just six turnovers. The Panthers committed 13.

Forward Brad Larson scored 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting before being ejected from the game in the fourth quarter.

Iolani gained some early momentum, but the Panthers raced back in with an uptempo transition game. Trey Hopkins’ drive and alley-oop pass to Rich for a slam dunk ignited Dr. Phillips.

Kyle Pape drained a pair of treys in the early going, and Iolani’s patience offense against a tight Panther man defense helped the Raiders take a 29-25 lead at halftime.

The Raiders went to Pape and he came through with six quick points to start the third quarter, and Iolani extended its lead to 13 by the fourth quarter. The Panthers broke from their usual offense as Rich began to take 3-point shots. Jack Berry drained a trey from the right corner to pull Dr. Phillips within 66-58 with 1:14 to go.

It was too late for the good Doctor, however, as Iolani put the game away with free throws.

Punahou 50, Mid-Pacific 31—Jeremiah Ostrowski nailed two 3-pointers, including a 23-footer, during a 10-1 run that broke open a close game and netted Punahou the consolation title.

Mid-Pacific showed it has enough to stay with one of its nemeses in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. Punahou, however, proved why it is among the favorites to secure a state tournament berth.

Punahou led 32-28 midway through the fourth quarter when Mid-Pacific made back-to-back bad passes into the low post. The Buffanblu, playing straight man defense, turned the gifts into rewards with a big run. Punahou took a 42-29 lead, and the roll continued through the final few minutes.

Ostrowski, a 5-7 freshman, led the Buffanblu with 15 points. Spencer McLachlin, a 6-5 freshman, came off the bench to score nine points and help Punahou take command of the low post.

Mid-Pac center Travis Tyler, who scored 22 in a win over Moanalua Friday, led the Owls with eight points against Punahou.

Kalaheo 55, Moanalua 43—Sam Wilhoite poured in 21 points—13 in the first half—and Theo Fujita added 10 as the Mustangs outlasted a rival from the O’ahu Interscholastic Association East Division.

Darin-Jay Shinogawa led Moanalua with 12 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Jonathan Austad scored nine points off the bench, all on treys, and Joseph Nishimura added eight points.

The second quarter proved pivotal for both teams. After staying in a halfcourt man defense, the Mustangs unleashed halfcourt and fullcourt traps, and the Menehune struggled. If not for two 3-pointers by Jonathan Austad, the run could have been worse.

Kalaheo turned a 10-8 lead late in the first quarter into a 27-13 margin, with most of the points coming off steals. Another reason for the 17-5 run was Moanalua’s foul problems. Eric Keys and Marquise DuVall picked up two early personal fouls, giving Wilhoite had free reign in the paint.

Keys and Nishimura returned to the game with three minutes remaining in the second quarter, and the tide turned. Moanalua went on a 10-2 run to close the gap to 29-23 at intermission.

The Mustangs asserted control in the third quarter with a deliberate offense and tough man defense. Kalaheo led 44-31 early in the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Kalaheo 10 19 10 16 — 55
Moanalua 08 15 05 15 — 43

Hamilton 73, Waimea 48—Brian Schaeffer scored 11 of his 20 points in the first quarter, leading the Huskies over the Menehune. Swingman Luis Arrieta added 12 points for Hamilton, which led 45-19 at halftime.

Center Casey Kaohelauli’i led Waimea with 23 points, including three treys in the second half. Jeremy Manuel scored eight points and Jordon Dizon had five.

Kalani 53, Kapolei 29—The question arises for Falcon fans: Which is the real Kalani boys’ basketball team?

Two days after blowing a double-digit lead and losing to Mid-Pacific, and one day after taking a one-sided loss from Hamilton, the Falcons played their best game of the tournament.

Kellen Kashiwa and Jason DeGuzman each scored 15 points, and Dusten Umeda had 10 points and 10 assists as Kalani handled Kapolei easily. Umeda’s lightning-quick drives were effective and entertaining, while DeGuzman showed the heart of a determined warrior, diving for loose balls even with Kalani up by 15 with three minutes to play.

Kapolei, a team that is expected to contend for the O’ahu Interscholastic Association West title, looked tired and lethargic for the 9:30 a.m. tip-off.

Kalani played with energy and start-to-finish hustle. The Falcons shot 53 percent from the field (20 of 38) thanks in part to Umeda’s drive-and-dish plays for layups. The Falcons overcame 19 turnovers by holding Kapolei to 22-percent shooting from the field (12 of 55).

Kapolei was 1-of-13 from 3-point range. No Hurricane scored more than five points. Brad Padayao, the team’s leading scorer in the Classic, shot just 1-of-6 and finished with two points. Center Warren Simanu was 2-of-8 from the floor and ended up with four points in 13 minutes. The Hurricane outrebounded Kalani, 32-30, but committed 21 turnovers.