It was a master blaster kind of start for top-seeded Saint Louis, which never trailed in a stunning 63-36 rout of Kahuku on Thursday night at Moanalua High School gym.
Saint Louis (17-2) will meet MIL champion Baldwin in the semifinal round Friday night at Moanalua. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Hayden Bayudan led the Crusaders with 20 points and four steals.
“We had to press them. Their main ballhandler’s Amari (Westmoreland-Vendiola), so we wanted to at least get the ball out of his hands,” Bayudan said. “The tape we’ve seen, they struggle with pressure, so we wanted to make it not easy for them to get the ball up the court.”
AJ Bianco added 12 points, four rebounds and five assists. The 6-foot-4 senior also had four steals, all in the first 10 minutes of play.
“We came out with a lot of energy on the defensive side of the ball. Coach says defense wins championships. Everyone at states is good, so we’re going to have to come out with the same energy we brought tonight,” Bianco said. “We’ll see where it takes us.”
Shoncin Revuelto tallied nine points and Aiva Arquette had seven points and six assists. Arquette is Saint Louis’ season-long leading scorer, but he had a bit of a breather on Thursday night.
“We played Baldwin in preseason. They’re big. We’ve got to box out and keep them off the boards,” said Arquette, a 6-4 wing on the court and shortstop on the diamond.
Kahuku’s versatile 6-3 wing, Westmoreland-Vendiola, was swarmed and double-teamed all night. The high-scoring senior finished with 10 points and three rebounds. Daniel Kaio and Leonard Ah You added eight points apiece.
“It’s disappointing, but our boys played hard,” Kahuku coach Brandyn Akana said. “Credit to those guys. They came out and pressured our guards and we had a hard time. That’s the kind of pressure we didn’t see. That’s the first time.”
Kahuku (10-2) got staggered by Saint Louis’ knockout blows early and never recovered. The Crusaders came out with a different look, deploying their quick perimeter defenders in a 2-2-1 press.
“We did some of that in the preseason. We talked and we worked on it and the guys felt good about it,” Saint Louis coach Dan Hale said. “It’s definitely a collaborative thing. They really wanted to (press). Especially when you’ve sat for awhile, it’s a good way to get out and get things flowing, and they did a great job with it.”
Within two minutes, the ILH champions had a 12-1 lead as Bianco got involved with a steal, combining with Bayudan for easy baskets in transition.
A steal by Bayudan and assist by Arquette led to an easy bucket for Cole Schmidt as Saint Louis opened the lead to 20-5 before the end of the first quarter.
The momentum carried into the second quarter as Arquette splashed a straightaway 3, Pupualii Sepulona drove into the paint for a basket, and Bayudan scored two more field goals in transition. Saint Louis led 38-17 at the half as Kahuku seemed unable to stop the surge.
The lead got as big as 33 points in the second half as Saint Louis’ mix of starters and reserves kept the heat on.
