Montrose muscles past ‘Iolani

For a fleeting moment, ‘Iolani had the lead against the No. 4-ranked team in the country.

From then on, Montrose Christian lived up to its ranking.

Justin Anderson had a game-high 19 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Michael Carrera added 11 points and four blocks to lead the Mustangs to a 65-28 victory over the Raiders in the quarterfinals of the ‘Iolani Classic on Monday night.

Montrose Christian had the obvious height advantage, starting four players 6-foot-6 or taller.

Its bigger weapon was an intense trapping defense that pressured ‘Iolani into 13 first-half turnovers and just eight points at halftime.

"We’re a young team and it’s kind of been a problem for us thus far," ‘Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto said. "They’re physical, tough on the ball, bump and bang you, and with a team that’s bigger and more athletic and bumps and bangs you like that on defense, it’s tough."

Senior Austin O’Leary, who started for ‘Iolani after sitting out the first half of Saturday’s win over Kaimuki, banked in a 3-pointer for a 3-2 lead a minute into the game.

It was ‘Iolani’s only field goal in the first 11 minutes as the Mustangs reeled off the next 14 points and cruised to an eventual 31-8 halftime lead.

The Raiders were 2-for-18 from the field at that point.

"We struggled when they trapped us," said ‘Iolani starting forward Duke Pauli, who at 6-foot-3 was given the assignment of battling Montrose Christian’s big boys down low. "It was fun, a good experience, but I think we could have done better."

The Mustangs used their height advantage more in the second half, getting seven of Carrera’s 11 points in the third quarter.

‘Iolani hung tough, scoring more points in the first 4 minutes of the third quarter than it had in the entire first half.

The Raiders twice cut the deficit to 20 before a 3-point play by Carrera ignited a 23-6 run to end the game.

Gabriel Vega led ‘Iolani in scoring for the second straight game, scoring 10 of his 12 points in the third quarter.

‘Iolani scored more points in the third than the other three quarters combined.

"I’m glad they came out competing, playing hard, flying around and banging them as much as they banged us in the second half," Shimamoto said. "I thought we came out maybe a little bit scared and timid to start."

Yuki Togashi hit three 3-pointers off the bench for the Mustangs, who play Westbury (Texas) in the first of two semifinal games tonight at 6:30.

The Raiders will play Lincoln (Calif.) at 3:30.