At one point, the Saint Louis Crusaders were a sweet 9-0 and seemingly in midseason form as the boys basketball preseason began.
Of course, there were — and still are — kinks to work out. The Crusaders ironed out a wrinkle or two in a hard-earned 52-42 win over Roosevelt on Friday at the Walter Wong Invitational. Freshman Chris Sykes benefited from an extended look, scoring 14 points to spark Saint Louis.
Jimmy Nunuha III added 10 points as No. 7 Saint Louis won its second game in a row since losing to Kaiser during the ‘Iolani Classic last week.
"We’re back where we were," Nunuha said of the Crusaders, who are 12-2 in nonconference play. "We have some problems, but we’re fixing them along the way."
Kevin Foster led Roosevelt with 12 points and Keanu Furtado added 11. The Rough Riders battled through despite the absence of coach Steve Hathaway, who is back in Iowa for a family emergency.
The Rough Riders seemed to have Saint Louis’ number, closing the second quarter with a 7-0 run. Chaston Marcos scored on a three-point play, Foster scored on a steal and Jake Kawasaki hit a fast-break jumper for a 27-20 lead at the break.
"Coach said our seniors needed to step up," senior guard Ihaka Johnson said. "We had to play smarter, play together with more heart. He wanted us to prove him wrong."
Roosevelt got a quick bucket to start the second half, but the Crusaders went on a 9-0 run to tie the game. Sykes, a 6-foot-3 forward, scored on back-to-back layups to make it 29-all.
Kevin Marks went coast to coast for a layup to put Saint Louis up for good, 35-33, late in the third quarter. Jaymason Nunuha hustled for a putback before the buzzer, and after Nunuha sank his only 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, Saint Louis was on its way to a 17-3 run. That included a pair of layups by reserve forward Drew Kobayashi.
Coach Keith Spencer used a platoon system in the first half, then trimmed his rotation and included the active Sykes as a handy weapon on the glass. Spencer also used his surplus of quick guards to harass the Rough Riders with double teams on the sideline.
"We seemed tired today," Roosevelt assistant coach Kenny Lindsay said. "We had momentum going into the second half, and Saint Louis went on that run. We didn’t play like we should. We didn’t run the floor like we usually do."
It was Roosevelt, along with Saint Louis and ‘Iolani, that gave mainland teams their toughest local competition at the ‘Iolani Classic last week. But the Crusaders’ depth is a big factor this year, even when they play flat.
"I’ll tell you, this is vacation mode. They’re not getting up early in the morning, they’re probably staying up late playing with their new Xbox," Spencer said. "This wasn’t about X’s and O’s. It was about the kind of character we have. Roosevelt played their hearts out."
Saint Louis gets a literally big challenge on Saturday with a matchup against Zhejiang.
"We have to take care of the little things," Spencer said.
Zhejiang (China) 71, No. 5 McKinley 50
Meng Ziang scored 14 points, Yuang Tangwen had 11 and Xiago Rongpei added 10 as Zhejiang pulled away with a 12-2 run in the third quarter.
Jonah Howard scored 18 points for McKinley. Macjun Otarra had 12 and Dan Villejo added 10. McKinley trailed 36-31 at halftime, but had a flurry of turnovers against the tall, long visitors in the third quarter.
Leilehua 54, University 39
Joseph Gouty scored 14 points and Koa Kauhi added 10 to lead the Mules. Ryan Hobus led the Junior Rainbows with 14 points.
Damien 46, Kapolei 40
Rocky Mori scored 16 points and Kapi‘ina King added 13 to lead the Monarchs. Abdel-Kader Ziane had 15 points and Koa Alvarado tallied 14 for the Hurricanes.
WALTER WONG TOURNAMENT
Saturday
University vs. Kapolei, 12:30 p.m.
Damien vs. Roosevelt, 2 p.m.
Leilehua vs. McKinley, 3:30 p.m.
China vs. Saint Louis, 5 p.m.
Monday
McKinley vs. Damien, 12:30 p.m.
Roosevelt vs. University, 2 p.m.
Leilehua vs. China, 3:30 p.m.
Saint Louis vs. Kapolei, 5 p.m.
Tuesday
McKinley vs. University, 12:30 p.m.
Kapolei vs. Roosevelt, 2 p.m.
China vs. Damien, 3:30 p.m.
Leilehua vs. Saint Louis, 5 p.m.
