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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, February 21, 2007

St. Louis rolls past Campbell

 Photo gallery State basketball tournament gallery
 •  'Iolani makes statement by rolling over Baldwin

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Campbell's Dexter Vanhook takes a rebound away from St. Louis' Geordon Hanohano during last night's opening round game of the state Division I basketball tournament.

REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Scott Smith scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds and made three steals in the first half last night to help Saint Louis cruise past Campbell, 50-30, in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Boys Division I Basketball Championships.

The Crusaders, ranked No. 3 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 13-3 in the regular and postseason and will face O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion and No. 2 seed Kaimuki (11-5) in tonight's quarterfinals.

Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Radford's James Alegre Gym.

Campbell (10-6) lost its third straight game and again played without starting guard and scoring leader Mike Makinano. Sabers coach Bob Samson deferred questions regarding Makinano's status to athletic director/vice principal Sam Delos Reyes, who said only, "It's something internal that we'd rather not talk about."

Makinano, a sharp-shooting junior, sat out last Friday's OIA third-place game against Radford and watched last night's game in street clothes from the bleachers.

Asked if Makinano's absence had a big effect on his team emotionally, Samson said, "As far as spirits, no.

"We played without him on Friday, and we only lost by four points (54-50)."

Last night at Radford, the Crusaders' size and athleticism controlled the game from the outset and the Sabers never recovered. Smith, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound senior forward, scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds in the first period as Saint Louis jumped to leads of 11-0 and 15-2.

Smith later sank two free throws to stretch the lead to 21-2.

Campbell closed to 29-11 on Patrick Ward's 3-pointer 11 seconds before halftime, but would get no closer in the second half.

Smith finished with 18 points and six rebounds, and fellow senior post Solomona Aigamaua added 15 points, five rebounds and three steals, with all but four points coming in the second half when Smith picked his third and fourth fouls and mostly sat on the bench.

Dexter Vanhook led Campbell with eight points.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.