The loss of three All-State Fab 15 selections to graduation hasn’t slowed down Maryknoll this season.
The No. 1-ranked Spartans looked the part in a convincing 65-47 win over No. 2 ‘Iolani on Tuesday to take control of the ILH race in Maryknoll’s regular-season home finale.
The Spartans started all five seniors and got a game-high 16 points from senior Kalai Akaka to all but wrap up the regular-season crown with two games to go.
Maryknoll (9-1) has a two-game lead over ‘Iolani and Punahou (7-3) and needs a win over either Mid-Pacific or Kamehameha in the next four days to lock in a state-tournament berth.
“This group right here — their basketball IQ is really high,” Spartans coach Kelly Grant said just prior to honoring the five seniors after the game.
Makoto Kamata finished with 14 points, six rebounds and a steal, Marcus Tobin added 10 points and six rebounds and Payton Grant did a little bit of everything with six points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The fifth senior, Tyler Brooke, got in on the action with a late 3-pointer and five points in the fourth quarter.
The defending ILH champions lost three of the state’s 15 best players — guards Jordyn Perez and Isiah Gelacio and wing Jaylen Cain — to graduation, but haven’t slipped a bit. They swept both regular-season meetings against the Buffanblu and Raiders and handed ‘Iolani its most lopsided loss of the season.
“When you have 6-foot-3 (players) across the board and a 6-foot-7 guy (Tobin), we can break down a bit and still recover and defend other teams,” Grant said.
‘Iolani made 14 3-pointers in an eight-point loss to the Spartans to begin the month but finished with only 15 made field goals total on Tuesday.
The Raiders were held to five 3-pointers, with two coming from reserve Andrew Dawson after ‘Iolani coach Dean Shimamoto emptied the bench down 16 with three minutes remaining.
“(Maryknoll is) long, so they make it difficult to make shots,” Shimamoto said. “They’re really tough defensively. We score a lot of points. We shoot the ball pretty well, but they covered a lot of things we like to do and really shut us down offensively.”
‘Iolani threw a lot of different looks at Maryknoll defensively, mixing up man-to-man with a 3-2 zone and halfcourt and fullcourt pressure.
The Raiders couldn’t overcome 1-for-10 shooting from the field in the first quarter to fall behind 10-3.
Akaka had back-to-back eight-point quarters sandwiching the break, and Maryknoll extended its largest lead to 19 two times in the third quarter on baskets by Kamata.
Maryknoll finished the game 18-for-26 from the free-throw line, including 10-for-15 in the final quarter. It was not quite the 31-for-34 they shot from the charity stripe in the first regular-season meeting, but it didn’t matter.
“I’m expecting to play them again, maybe a couple more times,” Shimamoto said. “Gives us some things to work on.”
‘Iolani closes its regular season with the third-ranked Buffanblu on Thursday and Kamehameha on Monday, followed by the postseason tournament. Three ILH teams will qualify for the state tournament, which begins Feb. 18.
