Devonte Banner poured in 19 points and Brandon Martin added 12 as Mount Vernon (N.Y.) routed Kaiser 75-37 on Tuesday in opening-round play at the ‘Iolani Classic.
Martin was especially effective in the post against Kaiser’s 2-3 zone. The 6-foot-2 senior operated mostly on the baseline and in the middle of the paint as the Cougars concentrated on the perimeter.
“We attack the zone, see what we can find,” Martin said. “We’re not selfish.”
Judah Alexander, a 6-foot-5 senior, was the glue man with four assists and three steals in the first quarter as the visitors roared to a 22-3 lead. Alexander played through a back injury and finished with five points, five dimes, four boards, four steals and a block. Coach Bob Cimmino’s starters sat for most of the second half.
“The best thing about being in Hawaii is there are so many great people and great teams,” said Cimmino, who brought his Knights to the islands for a fifth time.
“This is a team that doesn’t have a superstar. Our strength is in our nine seniors. It’s only our third game, so we’re still getting to know each other, the pecking order,” Cimmino said. “Our point guard (Banner) really led us. We did all our scoring in the paint, which is nice.”
Unlike most teams this early in the season, zone offense wasn’t an issue for Mount Vernon.
“Their zone offense had a lot of good movement. Their passes were sharp and crisp, and they worked the high-low really well,” Kaiser coach Branden Kawazoe said.
Sticking with the zone was a must, the former ‘Iolani assistant coach said.
“If we try to match up, they’re bigger and quicker than us,” Kawazoe said.
Banner, a 6-2 senior, had six of his team’s 14 steals. The Knights’ fullcourt man defense, trapping in the backcourt and at midcourt, forced Kaiser into 23 first-half turnovers.
Kaiser, with some nice pieces — junior point guard Kelsey Lewis II had seven points, three assists and three steals — showed flashes of potential. Mostly, though, the Cougars were aggressive on both ends of the floor. Reserve post Marcus Mafi, a 6-5 sophomore, had a team-high eight points.
Chance Kallaugher, another 6-5 sophomore, had just three points, but looked much more comfortable against the big Knights as the game wore on.
“The good thing about this team is whether they get one minute or 30 minutes, they go hard,” Kawazoe said. “We’re still learning about maturity and discipline. We’ve got to use this as a learning experience.”
White Station (Tenn.) 61, Fuxin (China) 45
Curtis Phillips scored 22 points for the Spartans, who trailed for most of the first half, then locked down defensively in the third quarter. Fuxin, the third-place team in China last season, led 31-28 at the break, but White Station — ranked No. 7 nationally by MaxPreps — went on a 24-6 run to seize control.
Nych Smith, LaDarius Coleman and Davell Roby had 10 points each for the Spartans. Jiawei Feng led Fuxin with 20 points.
Back home in Memphis, temperatures were in the 30s and 6 inches of snow fell on Tuesday. It was 75 degrees in Honolulu in the evening.
West Linn 84, ‘Iolani II 26
Anthony Mathis scored 15 points and Cody Coppedge added 14 in the Spartans’ runaway victory.
Payton Pritchard chipped in 12 points and Ty Cleland added 10 for West Linn, which knocked down nine treys.
Preston Kamada led the D-II Raiders with seven points.
ILH Girls Division II
Hanalani 41, St. Andrew’s 19
Shanel Taparra and Jonnisty Monalim scored 11 points each as the Royals defeated the Pride.
At Hanalani |
STA (0-1) |
4 |
4 |
9 |
2 |
— |
19 |
HANALANI (1-0) |
11 |
15 |
9 |
6 |
— |
41 |
ST. ANDREW’S PRIORY—R. Tamashiro 4, O. Son 14, I. Geppert 1, M. Oishi 0, J. Serikawa 0, K. Shiraishi 0, H. Hapai 0. |
HANALANI—I. Aki 2, R. Yamada 4, A. Nava 6, S. Taparra 11, L. Hee 3, J. Monalim 11, C. Peterson 2, S. Oliveras 2, K. Shimabukuro 0, E. Barro 0, K. George 0, K. Peterson 0. |
Also
Kamehameha II 53, Le Jardin 45
ILH GIRLS DIVISION III
Lanakila Baptist 33, Lutheran 24
The Lions were held to fewer than 10 points in all four quarters in their loss to the Warriors.
Jeizelyn Pananjanan scored 17 points to lead Lanakila Baptist.
At Hanalani |
LUTHERAN (0-1) |
4 |
9 |
5 |
6 |
— |
24 |
LBS (1-0) |
6 |
13 |
4 |
10 |
— |
33 |
LUTHERAN—N. Lee 1, V. Naulu 19, D. Naulu 4, T. Fukuyama 0, K. Ikeda 0, J. Fonokalafi 0. |
LANAKILA BAPTIST—J. Pananjanan 17, K. Kanehialua 7, M. Pacheco 5, K. Walker 4, M. Ponancial 0, S. Guererro 0, A. Carla 0, S. Abajail 0. |
Monday’s late result
Island Pacific 34, Hawaiian Mission 27, OT
At Hawaiian Mission |
IPA (1-0) |
3 |
12 |
8 |
4 |
7 |
— |
34 |
HMA (0-1) |
8 |
12 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
— |
27 |
ISLAND PACIFIC—Chelsea Robello 10, Kiana Fleming 4, Erica Brenner 9, Tia Odoardi 11. |
HAWAIIAN MISSION—Grazielle Abaya 8, Savanna Valencia 1, Bella Olsen 7, Kalena Kaneakua 6, Lydia Earles 5. |