Iolani Classic Wraps with Mainland Romp
Small against big, local vs. mainland, home court advantage vs. over one hundred loyal fans from Kentucky--all were factors for an 'Iolani team seeking to defend Hawaii basketball against the onslaught of victories by highly ranked teams from far away places.
In the last day of the 'Iolani Classic tournament, 'Iolani faced the Royals from Mason County, Kentucky in a 3:30 Saturday afternoon game at the 'Iolani gym. It was an uphill battle, but the Raiders hung tough for three quarters.
In the end, athletic talent and a Kentucky tradition of winning basketball proved too much for the 'Iolani forces, but the Raiders went down fighting even as the boys from Mason County, Kentucky showed why they were ranked number one in that hoops-crazed state.
The Royals prevailed by a score of 55-41, but led by only a single point at halftime and broke a 30-30 tie at the end of the third quarter. The first play of the fourth quarter, however, featured a steal and a resounding two-handed dunk by the Royals' franchise player, 6' 7" forward Darius Miller.
Fans of the University of Kentucky will be seeing Miller next season in a Wildcat uniform, and he promises to be as successful in the college game as he was last night playing as a high school all-star.
His dunk to open the fourth quarter proved an omen of things to come as the Royals out-scored the Raiders 21-11 in the closing frame on their way to a victory that was not quite as easy as the final score would indicate.
Not surprisingly Miller led the Mason County team's scoring with 22 big points, while Taylor Mounts topped the 'Iolani scoring column with 11 followed by Pablo Warner and Trevyn Tulonghari with 10 each.
Big Day For Basketball At 'Iolani Prep Classic
by Al Linsky
A full slate of eight games gave the fans their money's worth Thursday as the 'Iolani Classic moved into high gear in the lower gym.
In a battle of the local teams, Leilehua outlasted Roosevelt, 48-42, to open the competition.
Ji Lin, hailing from Northern China, got it first win, 61-57, but it wasn't easy as St. Louis gave them all they could handle.
In another match of local teams, Moanalua bested Baldwin, 56-41.
Mid-Pacific then got into the win column with a 48-32 victory over Kalaheo.
The winner's bracket saw four more games, all mainland teams with the sole exception of the 'Iolani Raiders. The first game was between Mt. Vernon (NY) and Mason County (KY). The Mt. Vernon Knights are currently ranked 18th in the nation. The Mason County Royals are ranked #1 in the pre-season polls in Kentucky. This shaped up to be a great game and it was with Mason County coming out on top, 73-69.
The next game pitted the only local team left in the winner's bracket, host 'Iolani, against the Rice Raiders from Harlem, NY. Rice is currently ranked #11 in the nation and comes into the Classic as one of the favorites to win the tournament. Rice did not disappoint as they came up with a dominating performance and a 72-40 win over the game 'Iolani Raiders.
ACD, from Jacksonville, FL was next up taking on the powerful LeFlore team from Mobile, AL. ACD has a #1 ranking in their Florida division. LeFlore is the defending Classic champion and ranked #16 in the nation. ACD implemented a slowdown strategy that kept them in the game for almost three quarters. It was 13-10, LeFlore, at the end of the first quarter, and only 21-14 with 3:33 left in the third. From that point on, though, LeFlore took complete command, outscoring ACD by a 19-2 margin and winning with a final score of 40-16.
The final game pitted Westchester (Los Angeles) versus Montrose (Rockville, MD). Westchester has been a powerhouse in the LA City Section and likes an uptempo game. Montrose is ranked 7th in the USA Today polls and 4th by ESPN. Montrose has been nationally ranked for the past 9 years so Montrose seemed to be a strong favorite, at least on paper. This turned out to be the best game I've seen as Westchester ran to a small lead and kept it throughout. Montrose never panicked and I had the feeling that they were on the verge of going on a run, but the Comets from L.A. held fast and outplayed the Mustangs in crunch time.
There is another full day of basketball on tap on 'Iolani School on Friday, from 9:30am to 9:30pm. Matchups include Baldwin-Kalaheo, Roosevelt-St. Louis, Moanalua-Mid Pacific, Leilehua-Ji Lin, LeFlore-Westchester, ACD-Montrose, Mount Vernon-'Iolani and Rice-Mason County.
In the morning's Division II action, St. Joseph won 55-44 over Kalani, McKinley took care of Kaahumanu 68-29, Aiea won a close one over University 65-58, and LeFlore continued to motor along overcoming the Raiders 63-43.
On Monday, the Division II tournament started with eight teams participating. Local teams are University, Kalani, Aiea, McKinley and the 'Iolani Division II team. Outer island teams are St. Joseph from Hilo and Kaahumanu from Kahului.
In the last game of the night, 'Iolani II took on Kaahumanu. Kaahumanu is a very small school from Kahului, Maui (enrollment 79!). The Lions stayed with the Raiders for most of the game, but having only seven active players might have hurt them down the stretch. The Raiders pulled away at the end winning 59-47.