Fairfax routs Iolani to reach semifinals
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Iolani School boys basketball team, No. 41 in this week's Student Sports Inc. Fab 50, is a newcomer to national rankings.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
And after last night's 58-40 loss to No. 20 Fairfax, the Raiders' stay in the Fab 50 may end next week.
Iolani's Derrick Low drives past Kevin Bell of Fairfax
Fairfax, ranked No. 17 by USA Today, dominated the boards and used superior size and quickness to advance to the semifinals of the Iolani Prep Classic before a crowd of about 1,200.
"Physically, they're a big team and they jump high," Iolani senior forward Bobby Nash said. "They've got some big bodies, and (Lions post) Alex Bausley — trying to move him was like trying to move a freight train up an incline."
Bausley, at a sturdy 6-feet-6, scored 12 points and fellow post Jamal Boykin (6-7) had a game-high 19 points to lead Fairfax into tonight's semifinal against Montrose Christian (No. 14 in USA Today). Tipoff is set for 8. A dunk contest will follow the game.
Franklin (Seattle) will play Miami (Fla.) Christian (No. 2 in USA Today) in the other semifinal at 6:30.
Iolani (8-1) looked strong in the opening minutes of last night's game, taking a 10-8 lead with 2:10 remaining in the first period on Kyle Pape's 3-pointer.
But the Lions (7-0) roared back with a 10-0 run that stretched into the second quarter. Iolani's Ryan Hirata drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 18-13 with six minutes left in the half, but Fairfax answered with two short bankers to go up 22-13.
A putback by the Lions' Jason Gilzene made it 26-15 with 2:15 remaining, and after Zach Tollefson's 3-pointer closed it to 26-18 with one minute left, Boykin's free throw gave Fairfax a 27-18 lead going into halftime.
The Raiders made four 3-pointers in the half, but shot 7 of 23 from the field overall, including 4 of 14 from beyond the arc.
The Lions were 11 of 24 from the field and also made 4 of 8 free throws. Iolani had zero free-throw attempts in the first half and finished with four, making all of them.
"Two things really hurt us," Raiders coach Mark Mugiishi said. "We couldn't compete with them on the boards, and we didn't go to the line. We're a jump-shooting team, but when the shots aren't falling, we need to find another way to score."
The story remained the same in the second half, as Fairfax opened with a 10-2 run.
Derrick Low led Iolani with 13 points.
• MONTROSE CHRISTIAN 72, LINCOLN 48: Linas Kleiza scored 19 points and Fred Robinson added 16 for Montrose.
Omar Leary led Lincoln with 12 points.
