Marcus Tobin powered inside for 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 4 Maryknoll pulled away from No. 5 St. Francis for a 65-52 win at the Saints’ gym on Thursday night.

The Spartans (15-1) spoiled not only St. Francis’ Division I regular-season opener, but the school’s boys basketball debut in the higher classification. St. Francis moved up after winning the past two D-II state championships.

Tobin was instrumental in Maryknoll’s high-low offense against St. Francis’ 2-3 zone, but the visitors spread the ball around nicely. Guard Makoto Kamata finished with 14 points, including two 3-pointers and 3-for-3 shooting at the foul line in the final quarter. Niko Robben muscled his way into the paint for 13 points, and versatile Kalai Akaka finished with 11 points.

The Spartans outrebounded the Saints 33-25, hustling for 11 caroms on the offensive glass. They also shot nearly 50 percent from the field (24-for-49) and committed just seven turnovers. They limited St. Francis to 35 percent shooting from the floor. The Saints suffered a big blow when scoring leader Kameron Ng reinjured his ankle early in the fourth quarter and did not return.

“The big difference was Kameron got hurt,” Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said.

The visitors did their share of video study.

“We spent time preparing for zones, knowing St. Francis uses it. We used to spend 25 percent of our time on zone offense, now it’s 50 percent,” Grant said.

St. Francis (14-10 overall) got 28 points from junior guard Kordel Ng and 12 points, all on 3-pointers, by Titus Liu. Kameron Ng, a senior guard averaging 24 points per game, finished with seven points.

Just before the injury, St. Francis had pulled within 42-36 on a 50-foot halfcourt shot from the sideline by Kordel Ng to end the third period. Maryknoll went on a 10-5 run to open the lead to 52-41.

“We’ve got to play possession basketball in that situation and we rushed our next three shots,” St. Francis coach Ron Durant said. “It was a six-point swing and (Maryknoll) got three easy layups.”

One of those buckets was a fast-break dunk by Tobin, who scored 15 of his 21 points after halftime. Kordel Ng answered with three treys for the Saints to keep them in range. One of the trifectas brought the Saints within 54-47 with 2:22 remaining, but Maryknoll got a 4-point play from Kamata, who was fouled as he stroked a deep 3 from the right wing. Robben drove the lane again for a deuce, and Payton Grant hit a foul shot as the Spartans opened their largest lead, 61-47, with 1:56 left.

St. Francis hosts No. 6 Saint Louis on Saturday. Maryknoll travels to No. 2 ‘Iolani, also on Saturday.

At St. Francis

Maryknoll (15-1, 1-0) 13 14 15 23 — 65

St. Francis (14-10, 0-1) 9 12 15 16 — 52

Maryknoll: Kalai Akaka 11, Payton Grant 4, Noah Furtado 0, Makoto Kamata 14, Marcus Tobin 21, Sage Tolentino 0, Niko Robben 13, Like Soares 2.

St. Francis: Kameron Ng 7, Kordel Ng 28, Jett Tanuvasa 3, Titus Liu 12, Chase Akana 0, Makua Marumoto 0, Noah Mackenzie 2, CJ Guerrero 0, Nalu Kanalulu 0.

3-point goals— Maryknoll 5 (Kamata 3, Grant, Robben), St. Francis 9 (Liu 4, Kordel Ng 3, Kameron Ng, Tanuvasa).