Each missing their key big men, the Kaimukí and Kahuku boys basketball teams got blitzed by Mainland powerhouses last night in the opening round of the 26th Annual 'Iolani Prep Classic.

Neumann-Goretti, a Philadelphia team ranked No. 1 in Pennsylvania and No. 18 in the nation by ESPN Rise, sped past Kaimukí, 82-37.

Kahuku, the defending state runner-up, lost to Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.), 70-27. Montrose Christian is ranked No. 6 in USA Today's Super 25.

Kahuku played without 6-foot-4 post Kona Schwenke, who sat out with a shoulder injury. The Red Raiders trailed, 37-7, at halftime.

Kaimukí was a state semifinalist last season but is without Desmond Tautofi, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound Advertiser All-State second-team post player who is attending school in Las Vegas. Bulldogs coach Kelly Grant said they had hoped Tautofi could transfer back in time for basketball season, but the different school calendar in Las Vegas prevented that.

"We're done with our semester, but his semester won't end until January, so if he came back now his credits wouldn't transfer," Grant said. "The earliest we could have him back is January 15."

Without Tautofi's inside presence, Kaimukí was left with two slender posts, 6-1 Chester Sua and 6-foot Sean Spencer, to battle Neumann-Goretti's 6-6 Daniel Stewart and 6-5 Derrick Stewart. Daniel Stewart has signed a national letter of intent to play for NCAA Division I Rider University next season.

The Bulldogs actually led 4-0 after Spencer's layup 49 seconds into the game, but the Saints answered with an 8-0 run capped by Mustafaa Jones' 3-pointer with 6:05 remaining in the first period. Kaimukí cut it to 8-6 on Mason Kuali'i's two free throws nine seconds later, but Daniel Stewart made a free throw and then had a monstrous slam dunk to start Neumann-Goretti on a 21-0 run that overlapped into the second period.

The Bulldogs never got closer than 20 points the rest of the way.

"Without Desmond, this team is going to have to be extremely disciplined if we want to compete in the (O'ahu Interscholastic Association)," Grant said. "We had guys who deemed themselves open, whether it was from 19 feet to 26 feet, and they would settle for jumpers. We're playing a team that is bigger, quicker and stronger, and we didn't really expect to win. But when we have a game plan, I expect the players to follow it."

Tony Chennault, a 6-2 guard who has signed with Wake Forest, led the Saints with a game-high 16 points and Daniel Stewart added 14 points.

Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale said his team, which is making its first 'Iolani Classic appearance, received tips from another Philadelphia power, Roman Catholic — which has been to the Classic seven times.

"We had been looking to come here for a while, but you have to raise a lot of money to do it," Arrigale said. "This year, we finally said we have a good group with good families, so we took the opportunity with everybody's help. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"And besides," Arrigale said, "it's 27 degrees in Philly right now, so this is nice to be here."

Montrose Christian, making its ninth Classic appearance as the defending runner-up, almost has attained Kama'aina status by now and looked comfortable from the start against Kahuku last night.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first two-plus minutes, before Kahuku closed it to 11-5 on Sage Kaka's 3-pointer with 5:15 remaining in the first period.

Josh Hairston, a 6-foot-9 forward who has signed with Duke, then hit a short jumper a minute later to start Montrose Christian on a stunning 26-0 run that lasted until 28 seconds before halftime.

"Kona probably will be out another couple weeks, and we needed somebody inside who could block out and battle for rebounds," Red Raiders coach Hiram Akina said. "They never made one shot from the outside, but we needed to get rebounds and not give them so many chances."

Two years ago, sixth-ranked Montrose Christian trailed Kaläheo 25-24 early in the second half and led 36-31 entering the fourth period before winning, 56-36. Kaläheo stayed close mostly behind a physical defense, and Montrose Christian coach Stu Vetter said he was wary of Kahuku — the football state runner-up — using a similar tactic last night.

"They're known for football and we knew they had some physical players, so we were concerned about that," Vetter said. "But we prepared for it, and we used our quickness and athleticism to push the ball so we wouldn't have to worry about that."

Hairston led all scorers with 20 points and Terrence Ross, a 6-6 guard who has committed to Maryland, added 17 points for the Mustangs, who play 'Iolani in tomorrow's 5 p.m. quarterfinal.

Shairone Thompson scored 10 points to lead the Red Raiders.

'IOLANI 68, RADFORD 39

Josiah Sukumaran scored 14 points as 'Iolani beat Radford, which got 10 points from TJ Reid.

KINSTON (N.C.) 56, TSINGHUA (BEIJING, CHINA) 38

Reggie Bullock scored 14 points and Josh Benoit added 10 as Kinston beat Tsinghua, which got 10 points from Bo Wang.

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