Jakobi Bonner took control with 12 of his team-high 23 points in the second quarter as The Master’s Academy (Fla.) rallied past Kaiser 71-51 on Friday in opening-round play in the ‘Iolani Classic.
Bonner was a blur during a 23-6 run by the visitors, dominating defensively at mid court and racing past the Cougars in transition for layups.
“He’s very athletic and he gets up the court well. Our goal was to get back on defense and take the left side away,” Kaiser coach Branden Kawazoe said of Bonner, a left-hander. “He single-handedly took over.”
Bonner also grabbed eight rebounds while point guard Tanner Rubio looked a bit like Ricky Rubio with 15 points and seven assists for the Eagles (11-1). The Eagles’ balanced attack included 11 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks by 6-foot-7 Brooks Cluxton.
But it was Bonner’s persistence that made the biggest difference with the Eagles down 8-3 after the first few minutes.
“I play with high energy,” the 6-1 senior said. “We expected (Kaiser) to be a solid team with a lot of senior leadership. The big guy (Chance Kalaugher) is a helluva player.”
Kalaugher scored 23 points on 10-for-21 shooting and grabbed six boards. Keoua Mahiko added 15 points, including three treys, and seven rebounds. It was the first loss after eight wins for Kaiser, ranked No. 2 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10.
Kalaugher swatted one of Bonner’s fastbreak layup attempts off the glass, but it was an uphill battle most of the way. Kaiser turned the ball over five times in the first quarter and lost momentum. A layup by Cluxton off an offensive board gave the Eagles a 9-8 lead and the run was sustained by Bonner’s speedy trips upcourt. After Cluxton scored on the low post, it was 26-14 with 5 minutes left in the second quarter.
The Eagles’ twin towers of Cluxton and 6-5 Cole Thomas (12 points) were active in the paint. Kalaugher missed six of his first eight shots, but scored seven points late in the half to keep the Cougars fairly close.
The Master’s Academy led 38-26 at halftime and increased the lead to 16 during the third quarter. The Eagles sat in a 2-3 zone and dared the Cougars to fire away. Kaiser shot 5-for-22 from 3-point range.
The Cougars cut the lead to 57-47 early in the fourth quarter on a 3 by Mahiko and a layup by Kaleb Edison, but got no closer.
“It’s a perfect learning experience for us. We always talk about the little things like coming to meet passes,” Kawazoe said. “If you don’t take care of the little things, you’ll get exposed by good teams. I like how we played in the second half, but you can’t dig holes against good teams.”
Kalaugher was 2-for-7 from 3-point range and Kaiser didn’t have an offensive rebound until the second half. The Cougars finished with seven offensive rebounds.
La Lumiere (Ind.) 74, Guang Dong (China) 33
Brian Bowen II scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Lakers, ranked No. 3 in the country by USA Today, past Guang Dong.
Brandon Cyrus added 14 points and Kevin Zhang chipped in 10 for La Lumiere. Maozhou Zeng nailed three 3-pointers and totaled a team-high 15 points for the team from China.
‘Iolani 58, Kaimuki 39
Justin Genovia scored a game-high 15 points and was one of five different Raiders to connect from the 3-point line in the win over the Bulldogs.
Hugh Hogland added 12 points for ‘Iolani while Sifo Lauvao had 13 points to lead Kaimuki.
Fairfax (Calif.) 60,
Mid-Pacific 37
The Lions, who have won this tournament three times, got 14 points from Jamal Hartwell and 12 from Donald Gipson to beat the Owls.
Logan Hutchinson nailed three 3-pointers and had a team-high 11 points for Mid-Pacific, which led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Division II
University 30,
La Pietra 24
At La Pietra
La Pietra (0-5) 9 7 7 1 — 24
University (2-3) 6 9 9 6 — 30
LA PIETRA—Petrie 0, Glenn 0, Gladney 0, Brockert 2, Yarbrough 4, Thompson 16, Uslan 2.
UNIVERSITY—Perreira 2, Gelacio 4, Dawson 6, Kaawaloa 0, Vegas 0, Tassill 0, Goo Sun 5, Kaina 2, Young 11, Yoshioka 0, Ortiz 0.
3-point goals—La Pietra: Thompson 2. University: none.
Division III
Lutheran 44,
Christian Academy 38
At La Pietra
CA (0-4) 6 4 11 17 — 38
Lutheran (3-1) 14 6 10 14 — 44
CHRISTIAN ACADEMY—Cadiena 4, Cadelina 0, Tokunaga 10, Amadis 11, Trinidad 2, Tokuda 9.
LUTHERAN—Fukuyama 0, Ikeda 4, Wan 0, Hottendorf 3, Lee 11, McSwain 4, Colby 5, Naulu 17.
3-point goals—Christian Academy: Tokunaga 2. Lutheran: none.
