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Wire to wire, Saint Louis kept the No. 1 ranking.
The Crusaders closed out their first boys basketball state title in 36 years with the top spot in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 on Monday. Saint Louis, guided by Dan Hale, swept through the bracket with wins over Kahuku, Baldwin and Mililani to capture the Division I crown at the Heide & Cook/HHSAA State Championships.
Saint Louis shared the top ranking with ‘Iolani in the season-opening poll of coaches and media back on Jan. 2. After that, the Crusaders have held sole possession. Maryknoll was at No. 2 for a couple of weeks, then Punahou moved in.
‘Iolani returned to the second spot and stayed there until this week. OIA champion Mililani edged the Raiders in overtime in the state semifinals. It is the highest finish ever in the Top 10 for Mililani boys basketball.
Maui Prep, which visited the poll early in the season, re-entered after dominating the field in the D-II state championships. Na Pueo landed at No. 8 on Monday, ahead of Kamehameha and Punahou, bumping previous D-II state champion Kohala out of the Top 10.
MIL champ Baldwin moved up four notches and finished at No. 5. The Bears and their 6-foot-7, 6-7, 6-6 front court gave Saint Louis its closest battle at the state tourney, losing to the Crusaders 40-32.
Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10 final
Feb. 28, 2022
Rank School (overall, regular-season record) Pts LW
1. Saint Louis (11) (20-2, 10-2 ILH) 110 1
2. Mililani (17-2, 10-0 OIA West) 95 3
3. ‘Iolani (17-7, 9-3 ILH) 89 2
4. Maryknoll (15-7, 8-4 ILH) 67 4
5. Baldwin (12-6, 7-1 MIL D-I) 64 9
6. Kahuku (14-4, 10-1 OIA East) 45 6
7. Kailua (16-4, 11-0 OIA East) 37 5
8. Maui Prep (17-0, 7-0 MIL D-II) 34 NR
9. Kamehameha (9-8, 5-7 ILH) 30 7
10. Punahou (11-7, 7-5 ILH) 23 8
No longer in Top 10: Kohala (No. 10)
Also receiving votes: Kaimuki 3, Kohala 3, Roosevelt 2, Hilo 1, Kapaa 1, KS-Maui 1.
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