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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, February 28, 2003

Saint Louis pushes around Kea'au, 73-36

By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer

Saint Louis' Jonah Lakatani straddles the out-of-bounds line while making a pass against the defense of Kea'au's Rolan Benevides.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan doesn't think his Crusaders are any more physical than other teams in the state.

He'd have a hard time selling it to Kea'au coach Tim Lovejoy Jr.

Saint Louis, which has nine football players on its 11-man roster, used its superior size and strength to overwhelm Kea'au, 73-36, yesterday in the Hawaiian Airlines State Basketball Championship at the Neal Blaisdell Arena.

Saint Louis (13-3), the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up, will play Maui in today's semifinal.

The Crusaders shot 27 of 54 from the field, forced 20 turnovers and held a 50-24 rebounding advantage.

"Our guys were telling me, 'Coach, they're killing us,' " Lovejoy Jr. said. "I said, 'Yeah they are, but you still got to play.'

"I mean you're talking about a David and Goliath thing. Their guys are 250 (pounds), our guys are 200, maybe 180."

Guard Jonah Lakatani, who disrupted Kea'au's offense with pressure, had six of Saint Louis' 14 steals.

"That's the key to our team," Tengan said. "Our defense was able to up-tempo the game. We didn't want a slow game."

Jason Rivers scored 15 points and had nine rebounds and reserve Wilson Afoa contributed 13 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders, who reached a season-high point total.

When asked if he thought his team was physical, Tengan said: "I don't think we play any more physical than anybody else. It's a perception because of our football players and the success we've had in football."

Kea'au (13-1), the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion, entered as the No. 3 seed in the tournament.

"They handed us our butt on a silver platter," Lovejoy Jr. said.

The Crusaders picked apart the Cougars' 1-1-3 zone by getting the ball inside to their big men.

"We're a very good zone offense team," Tengan said. "We attacked, we went inside, we didn't have to shoot (from the) perimeter like we did last night (against Kaimuki), and our big guys came through down inside."

Saint Louis put the game away with a 25-7 run during an eight-minute span bridging the first and second quarters to go up 33-15 with 3:52 left before halftime.