The drought is over for Saint Louis.
Aiva Arquette poured in 25 points, including a monster dunk in traffic during a crucial second-quarter run, as the top-seeded Crusaders overpowered second-seeded Mililani 57-34 for the boys basketball state title on Saturday night at Blaisdell Arena.
Arquette also hauled in 12 rebounds, adding two assists and two steals while shooting 10-for-19 from the field.
“Coming out tonight, we just had to play as a team. Mililani’s a super solid game. They can shoot. We had to fire on all cylinders and come together as a team,” the 6-foot-4 senior said.
Saint Louis was at its best with Arquette on the block offensively.
“That’s been our game plan the whole year. We have two 6-4 people on our team (including AJ Bianco). That’s our game, the inside. It’s awesome,” Arquette said.
Mililani coach Garrett Gabriel guided his team to an OIA crown and a 16-2 overall record.
“It’s different guarding Arquette. He’s a matchup problem. That’s why he’s the player of the year,” Gabriel said. “I give credit to them because they played well the whole season in the ILH and through the states. They deserve this.”
Cole Schmidt added 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting, the recipient of passes from teammates executing against Mililani’s traps. Hayden Bayudan, floor general and defensive spark plug, had nine points, four assists and two steals. Saint Louis shot 50 percent from the field (22-for-44) and 80 percent at the free-throw line (12-for-15) while committing only 11 turnovers against a quick, aggressive Trojans defense.
Gabriel had concerns about his team’s fatigue after playing a plethora of games on consecutive nights during the OIA playoffs and state tourney. The Trojans got seven points apiece from Trey Lieb and Jayden Kipapa, and Lauvai Pine hustled for six points and six rebounds. The Trojans shot 28 percent from the field (12-for-43), including 3-for-18 from 3-point range.
Saint Louis earned its first boys basketball crown since 1986, when Kaipo Spencer was the head coach. This is the seventh state title in all. The first five were under Walter Wong (1957, ’61, ’66, 67, ’68).
Arquette, who signed to play baseball for the University of Washington, had a relatively quiet state tourney until Saturday. He had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the Crusaders’ 63-36 quarterfinal win over Kahuku.
In the semifinals, Arquette had 12 points, seven boards, two assists and three steals in a tough 40-32 win over MIL champion Baldwin.
Mililani countered by using Creighton Ofsonka as a primary defender on Arquette in the post, with 6-4 shot blocker Dylan Flanders hovering nearby.
With Bianco on the bench again with two early fouls, Saint Louis patiently ran its motion offense and Arquette never hesitated to attack from the block or the perimeter. He had 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting by halftime.
Saint Louis roared to a 13-2 lead after one quarter as Arquette scored eight points. That included a 12-foot fadeaway jumper that tumbled in shortly before the end of the quarter.
Mililani was ice cold with 0-for-11 shooting from the field in the opening quarter, but Kipapa hit a layup on a pass from Lieb, and then rained in a long 3. Saint Louis opened the lead to 16-4 on a corner 3 by Shoncin Revuelto and rode the energy of Arquette’s two-handed jam in the paint, bringing Crusaders fans to their feet. Saint Louis was up 22-11 at the half.
“It felt awesome. It was definitely a heat of the moment kind of thing. I jumped kind of high and I saw I was by the rim, so I put it in. It was awesome,” Arquette said.
The Trojans made a run in the third quarter, getting buckets in the trenches from Pine, a 3 from Lieb and a three-point play by Jackson Mayo. They were within 28-21 with 4:21 left in the third.
The Crusaders responded. Arquette powered his way on the block for a three-point play and Pupualii Sepulona drove for a layup. Revuelto then hustled to steal a long inbounds pass and delivered a left-handed assist to Bayudan for a layup.
Bayudan capped the run with a 17-foot baseline jumper at the buzzer, opening Saint Louis’ lead to 40-26 after three quarters, its biggest of the game.
After a reverse layup by Bayudan and a putback by Arquette to begin the fourth stanza, Saint Louis had its biggest lead, 44-26.
Schmidt’s layup later opened the lead to 47-26 and the Crusaders never looked back.