Pupu Sepulona scored on a low-post spin move to break a 35-all tie with 1:52 remaining as No. 1 Saint Louis hung on for a 39-35 win over No. 3 Maryknoll on Saturday night at Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium.
First-place Saint Louis improved to 5-0 in ILH play (21-1 overall). Sepulona finished with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field, including a bank-shot 3 in the first quarter. He was guarded by Maryknoll’s 6-foot-3, 270-pound center, Ghesiah Faleafine-Auwae, for most of the game.
“I knew he was in foul trouble, so I kept going at him,” Sepulona said.
Jordan Nunuha added eight points and Keanu Meacham had seven points to go with five rebounds.
“It was a typical Saint Louis-Maryknoll game. Very gritty. We were very fortunate to get some hustle plays down the stretch which were the difference,” Crusaders coach Dan Hale said.
After Shancin Revuelto hit a foul shot for a 38-35 lead with 22.2 seconds remaining, the biggest play by Meacham was a sky-high tip to teammate Revuelto after he missed the second free throw. The ball nearly went out of bounds, but Revuelto saved it, giving Saint Louis the ball with a 38-35 lead.
Meacham was fouled with 11.1 seconds left and made one of two free throws for a four-point lead.
Keanu Lee missed a corner 3 in the final seconds as Maryknoll dropped to 0-3 in league play (16-6 overall).
“It came down to who really wanted it. That’s what won us this game,” Revuelto said. “Just playing defense. Maryknoll’s a good team. We’ve just got to practice on some stuff.”
The Spartans battled the three-time defending state champions evenly from the start. There were seven lead changes. Maryknoll’s last lead was 33-32 on a Faleafine-Auwae layup with 6:09 remaining.
“We’ve got to finish games. I don’t know how many quality shots we got in the last few minutes, but it felt like Saint Louis got every rebounding opportunity,” Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said. “They all can jump, and when they’re coming in from the perimeter, it’s like jumping for a volleyball.”
The difference between the only unbeaten team in the ILH, Saint Louis, and the only winless team is a play or two. Four points.
“That’s our league. On any given night, you can walk into somebody’s gym and they can knock you off,” Hale said. “It makes us all tougher, whoever can make it out and get to the state tournament.”
Saint Louis outrebounded Maryknoll 25-15. Five of the Crusaders’ caroms were on the offensive boards. The Spartans had three offensive rebounds.
Mission Uperesa-Thomas led Maryknoll with 13 points. Nixis Yamauchi made two 3-pointers in the first half, but Saint Louis adjusted defensively and kept the sharpshooting guard scoreless after intermission.
“We needed to stick with our team defensive concepts. Nixis is a great talent. We’ve got to help and do everything we can to make him work for shots,” Hale said. “Sometimes you do that and he’ll hit them, too, so we really focused on team defense in that second half. Run him off and then help on his drive, and we’ll live with the results. Mission is tough. They’ve got tough guys.”
The Spartans will host Mid-Pacific at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Saint Louis will host ‘Iolani at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Perhaps the only consolation in ILH Division I boys basketball this season is that there are three state-tournament berths available. There are currently seven ILH teams in the Star-Advertiser Top 10, and an eighth, Mid-Pacific, was ranked a week ago.
