Caelan Fernando and Keanu Meacham scored 14 points apiece as No. 1-ranked Saint Louis outscored No. 5 University 17-4 in the second quarter en route to a 55-43 win on Saturday afternoon at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium.
Saint Louis improved to 7-0 in ILH play (24-1 overall) as Pupu Sepulona pumped in 13 points and Shancin Revuelto added eight. Stellar man-to-man defense and an offense with smart ball movement have proven more than enough for the three-time defending state champions. They shot 1-for-7 from 3-point range and won again.
“That only works if they’re selfless, and they’re very unselfish,” Saint Louis coach Dan Hale said. “Our baskets off assists is probably the highest it’s been since I’ve been here, and that’s just sharing the ball.”
On Saturday, 13 of the Crusaders’ 22 field goals came on assists.
Sepulona, a 6-foot-3, 274-pound senior and two-time All-State Player of the Year, was on the football field Friday night at the Polynesian Bowl. His busy week, with football practice every morning and basketball practice after school, is finally over. With University’s 6-foot-7 Trey Ambrozich and teammates clogging the paint area, Sepulona shot 5-for-14 from the field. As a team, Saint Louis shot 22 for 51 (43%).
When the teams met Jan. 7, University had a nine-point lead in the second half before Saint Louis rallied for a 44-37 win. The Jr. ’Bows also had starting forward Alika Ahu that day. On Saturday, the Stanford commit was busy at a key baseball tournament on the mainland.
“We played a really, really good team right there. We had to really execute and take care of the ball,” said Hale, who called an early timeout in the second quarter. “Just to remind them. We were playing so hard, and then we pushed it a little bit, take a quick shot. We want to make them play defense, and we did. I thought our fourth-quarter time management was great.”
The Crusaders’ man-to-man defense did not consistently stop Ambrozich, who had 10 points and seven rebounds, but the Junior Rainbows struggled from the field most of the game. ULS shot 45% from the field (17-for-38). Ambrozich shot 5-for-13 from the field and was scoreless in the final quarter.
“Stone (Kanoa) is our guy as far as our defensive stopper. I don’t know how tall he is, but he plays a lot taller than he is. He was working hard and busting his butt,” Hale said. “We know Trey’s going to hit shots. Some of those shots, there’s nothing you can do. Just get your hand up. That’s an area we’re still improving on. We can run and score, but it’s that defensive end, putting it together.”
No. 2 Punahou 63, No. 8 ‘Iolani 44
Zion White had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots as the Buffanblu (20-4, 5-1 ILH) pulled away in the second half. White shot 5-for-11 from the field and 1-for-5 at the free-throw line, but his persistence was a key. The 6-foot-5 sophomore also dished four assists and had only one turnover.
Dash Watanabe tallied 11 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Dane Kellner and Ethan Chung added nine points each.
‘Iolani (12-9, 2-3 ILH) stayed in tough man-to-man defense for three quarters, limiting Tanoa Scanlan’s touches. The 6-6 sophomore finished with 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 at the foul line. Scanlan also had nine rebounds and three assists.
