The expectations are sky high and the Dragons of Bishop O’Dowd haven’t played a great game — yet.
They did enough to reach the final of the ‘Iolani Classic thanks to 6-foot-11 Ivan Rabb, who had 22 points and 16 rebounds to power Bishop O’Dowd (Calif.) past Orange Lutheran (Calif.) 60-52 on Friday night.
Rabb’s ability to see the floor and read Orange Lutheran’s constant double teams was a huge factor.
"That’s what he’s faced as a sophomore and junior. He showed tonight why people say he’s the No. 1 player in the country," coach Lou Ritchie said.
Rabb, a five-star prospect, has not signed with a college yet. His choices include Arizona, Cal, Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA.
Point guard Paris Austin tallied 15 points, including five consecutive free throws in the final 29 seconds, to ice the win. Austin Walker added 12 points, including two of his team’s three treys.
It was a little more difficult than necessary for the squad from Oakland. The Dragons were 2-for-6 from the charity stripe during a stretch in the late going, missing back-to-back front ends of one-and-ones. Austin was 11-for-19 at the line, but finished strong.
"To his credit," Ritchie said, "he hit the last five free throws for us, and we knew he would."
Rogers Printup scored 16 points after a slow start. The dynamic shooting guard missed his first six shots, but caught fire in the second half. Keisean Lucier-South, a 6-6 senior, added 16 points, including 10-for-12 at the foul line.
With Rabb corralling just about every missed shot by the Lancers, the Dragons had a 28-17 edge on the boards, limiting the squad from Orange County to just five offensive rebounds.
Bishop O’Dowd (6-1) entered the tournament ranked No. 8 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Writers Poll and 33rd in the MaxPreps National Rankings. The Dragons are No. 11 in the USA Today Super 25. The promise of a great season is undeniable; Ritchie is looking forward to the night his team plays well from start to finish.
"I wouldn’t say it’s a relief. I wish we had played well. We hadn’t started a game well, but tonight we started well," Ritchie said. "We’ll need to put together a complete game."
Rabb was, at times, as nimble and intimidating at the rim as a better-known 6-11 superstar, Anthony Davis. Rabb’s wingspan and body control were key to Bishop O’Dowd’s man defense.
They went to him offensively early on the elbows. Rabb scored his team’s first eight points as the Dragons took a 14-3 lead. Orange Lutheran countered by double-teaming Rabb at every touch. The Dragons started running a flex offense, and the Lancers went on a 16-6 run.
"It was my playcalling and our lack of execution," Ritchie said of the turnaround.
Orange Lutheran opened the lead to 26-20 after Chris Williams swished a corner 3 in transition with about 2 minutes left in the first half.
Trailing 28-25 at intermission, Bishop O’Dowd opened the second half with renewed energy and battled back. The lead changed hands twice before Walker sank a 3-pointer from the wing on a fastbreak for a 33-30 Dragons lead, and they never trailed again.
Bishop O’Dowd will play Oak Hill for the championship on Saturday at 8 p.m. Oak Hill beat St. John Bosco 66-59 in the other semifinal.
‘IOLANI CLASSIC SCORES
Mid-Pacific 55, Fuxin New Star 29
Kauai 70, Roosevelt 58
Kaiser 53, Saint Louis 44
Kamehameha 32, Kailua 22
Miller Grove (Ga.) 69, Lexington Catholic (Ky.) 63, OT ‘Iolani 56, Second Baptist (Texas) 48
SAINT LOUIS VARSITY I AA TOURNAMENT
FRIDAY
Aiea 58, Saint Louis I-AA 46
Hawaii Baptist 62, Waialua 47
Kaimuki 50, ‘Iolani I-AA 40
Pearl City 52, Maryknoll I-AA 39
