The Wasatch Tigers are in the final of the ‘Iolani Prep Classic, the first time a school from Utah has been this far.
No. 15 Wasatch, coached by former BYU-Hawaii player David Evans, went on a 15-3 run to close the first half and rallied past No. 9 Long Island Lutheran 68-58 on Friday night before a near-capacity crowd at Father Bray Athletic Complex. Tonight, the Tigers play the winner of Friday’s late game between No. 14 Oak Hill and Jefferson for the tournament championship.
Five Tigers scored in double figures in a display of selfless, disciplined, yet balanced and aggressive quick-tempo offense. High-flying Caleb Lohner led with 14 points. Leonardo Colimerio and Richard Isaacs Jr. scored 13 points each, and Mike Saunders and Richie Saunders tallied 11 apiece.
Richie Saunders, a 6-foot-9 commit to BYU, led with 10 rebounds.
Wasatch survived the all-terrain attack of Long Island Lutheran’s elusive point guard, Andre Curbelo, who scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter (plus 10 rebounds, four assists), and Ohio State commit Zed Key (19 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks). The Crusaders never got their 3-point game going as Wasatch protected the arc. They also missed 6-foot-7 scorer Jalen Celestine, still back home recuperating from an injury.
“I’m proud of them. Wasatch is tremendous. Their combo of outside shooting and the inside game is tough,” Long Island Lutheran coach John Buck said. “We limited them to 68 when they’ve been scoring in the 80s.”
The Tigers’ quick-hitting fast-break game worked cold and hot. They began the game missing all but one of their first 15 tries from deep. Their patient halfcourt offense, loaded with staggered screens, worked well. Sometimes it was Lohner with authoritative dunks off feeds from Mike Saunders. Other times, it was Richie Saunders cutting to the hoop for passes from Colimerio.
“You know, we all care about each other and we want to win basketball games. If we’re going to win basketball games, we all have to play together,” said Lohner, a commit to Utah. “It’s just our mentality. We’re all in good shape and we kept going.”
Down 25-19, the Tigers closed the first half with a 15-3 run, then went to big posts Kamyrn Waites and Fussayni Traore for buckets in the paint.
After Richie Saunders hit his first trey, Isaacs scored off a turnover, and Mike Saunders splashed a wing 3 to give the squad from Utah a 34-28 lead.
Wasatch, of Mount Pleasant, Utah, ousted Tsinghua (China) 101-59 in the opening round on Tuesday. The Tigers then outscored Archbishop Wood (Penn.) in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.
The Tigers’ halfcourt execution was something to behold — after Richie Saunders ran a curl and fed Lohner for a one-handed jam, the Tigers led 42-30. Richie Saunders then splashed a corner 3 and Wasatch had its biggest lead, 45-32.
