When it was time to go small, the Saint Louis Crusaders played big.
Their senior backcourt trio of Jimmy Nunuha III, Ihaka Johnson and Kevin Marks combined for 42 points as Saint Louis rolled to a 68-49 win over Roosevelt on Friday night in the semifinals of the Surfrider Holiday Classic at Kailua High School.
The Crusaders (2-0) led from the start, withstanding a couple of Roosevelt rallies. It wasn’t easy. Roosevelt was coming off a 62-52 win over a big Baldwin squad. But Saint Louis’ experience and crisp offense put a lot of pressure on the smaller Rough Riders. Coach Keith Spencer started out with his normal lineup, but went to a smaller group to match up better with the speedy Rough Riders.
"They gave us a good look because they’re small. Trying to guard them on the perimeter would’ve been hard," Spencer said of his defense, which was in man-to-man through the first half. "It was a very good game for us. It showed me that we can play small when we have to against teams like Kamehameha."
Nunuha finished with 16 points and Johnson had 15, including two treys. Marks added 11 points. The Crusaders dominated on the offensive glass, getting hustle plays from Chris Sykes and Jaymason Nunuha.
Kevin Foster scored 14 points and Brent Quackenbush scored all of his 14 off the bench in the second half for Roosevelt (2-1). Valen Inaura added 12 points.
"Kevin’s the only one who really showed up. Saint Louis is good. They’re tough, especially their guards. They run the floor well," Roosevelt coach Steve Hathaway said. "I wish we would’ve played our game. We just played terrible. Our younger guys are showing growing pains, but it’s early. I’m not worried."
Keanu Furtado sat after suffering an injury early in the game. Quackenbush, a 6-1 swingman, didn’t play in the first half due to disciplinary action.
The game was close in the first four minutes before the Crusaders went on a 7-0 run. Marks hit a 3 from the top and scored a layup on a backdoor cut as Saint Louis took a 16-6 lead after one quarter.
Foster, who scored 31 points in Roosevelt’s win over Baldwin in the opening round, didn’t score until the second quarter. He faced tough man defense by the Crusaders, but Roosevelt’s swarming man defense produced steals and Foster got hot, hitting a trey and driving for a layup to spark a rally. After he hit two more free throws, he had nine points in less than three minutes and Roosevelt was within 21-17.
Saint Louis went on a 12-0 run with points in transition and off the offensive glass. Johnson’s wing 3 and Sykes’ foul-line jumper opened the lead to 33-17. The Crusaders led at intermission 36-22.
Sykes hit a turnaround jumper on the baseline and hustled for a tip-in as the Crusaders opened the lead to 51-28 midway through the third quarter.
