Tristan Nichols scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds as No. 8-ranked Saint Louis routed Campbell 77-47 on Thursday in the opening round of the Pete Smith Classic at Kalaheo High School.
Reginald Knowles led Campbell with 15 points.
Nichols, a 6-foot-4 senior with a physique reminiscent of former Washington Bullets great Wes Unseld, played just two quarters plus a few minutes as the Crusaders took command in the first quarter and coasted to victory.
It was a hearty effort by Saint Louis, which is now 6-2 in nonconference play under first-year coach Allan Silva. Nichols, a first-year transfer from Maui High School, is turning into a prominent contributor at Saint Louis. Even if his biggest fan happens to be his toughest critic.
“It’s not like it’s bad, but nothing’s really good enough,” Nichols said of Silva’s demands.
It should be noted that Nichols is smiling when he talks about his coach.
“I’ll get a drop-step basket and he’ll tell me I should’ve gone up with my left hand,” he added.
Nichols admitted he wanted to crack the 30-point mark, but that’s more about a personal challenge to himself. At well over 250 pounds with quick feet, he expects more.
“The games when I don’t score 30 and people say, ‘He should be scoring 30,’ ” Nichols said. “And they’re right.”
It was, in reality, a strong team effort by the Crusaders. Point guard Jett Tanuvasa distributed the ball with balance, while sophomore post Chris Sykes was solid off the bench with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a block. He was especially comfortable feeding the ball to Nichols in the low post, and Nichols went to work with his arsenal of power moves and reverse layups.
The key, though, continues to be junior forward Isaac Slade-Matautia. When he entered the game, the score was 8-all. Silva unleashed the 6-foot-2, 215-pound speedster on Campbell’s guards out of Saint Louis’ extended 1-2-2 halfcourt zone. He had two quick steals to spark a 12-0 run.
“He’s creating havoc. He plays basketball like he’s playing linebacker,” Silva said of Slade-Matautia, who is one of the top ’backers in the state.
Campbell had 18 turnovers by halftime and finished the game with 33 giveaways.
Slade-Matautia finished with a modest five points, two rebounds, four steals and four assists. His all-around effectiveness makes a huge difference for Saint Louis. With him in the lineup, they beat Leilehua 58-50 two weeks ago. When he was gone to work on a physics assignment, they lost to the Mules 65-46 last week.
“He’s the energizer,” Nichols said of his football and basketball teammate. “He gets us going, always forcing turnovers and setting the tempo.”
OIA WEST GIRLS
Radford 61, Pearl City 11
Kyle Johnson scored 12 points, Natalie Jackson added 11 and Shaelie Burgess had 10 as the Rams beat the Chargers.
Pearl City’s Ciera Sylva scored five points.
At Radford
PEARL CITY (0-2) 4 4 0 3 — 11
RADFORD (2-0) 12 15 22 12 — 61
PEARL CITY—Ciera Sylva 5, Brianna Huihui 0, Maya Mendez 2, Raquel Gonzalez-Salazar 0, Shawnia Oliveros 0, Ashley-Pianna Amarin 3, Shanelle Concepcion 0, Marley Mew-Kang 1, Olivia Mataele 0.
RADFORD—Natalie Jackson 11, Puni Seei 4, Salara Dill 8, Michelle Vasquez 4, Kyle Johnson 12, LJ Peralta 8, Jayde Johnson 2, Shaelie Burgess 10, Denise Bell 2.
3-point goals—Pearl City 1 (Sylva). Radford 1 (Jackson).
Junior varsity— Pearl City 25, Radford 22
