'Iolani made things interesting in the final four minutes against the nation's No. 15-ranked boys basketball team last night, but Mount Vernon (New York) held off the Raiders' furious rally to win, 67-55, at the 24th Annual 'Iolani Prep Classic.

Mount Vernon, ranked No. 15 in USA Today's latest Super 25 released Monday, will play New York City rival Rice (No. 10 in USA) at 6:30 tonight.

'Iolani will face Mason County (Maysville, Ky.) at 3:30 p.m. Mason County, the No. 1-ranked team in Kentucky's preseason coaches poll according to the Lexington Herald, upset Mount Vernon, 73-69, Thursday.

It did not appear as if 'Iolani would threaten to do the same, especially after trailing 61-41 with 4:37 remaining. But Berton Wong's 3-pointer with 3:34 left started the Raiders on a stunning 11-0 run with the Knights' starters still in the game.

Sophomore Jarrett Arakawa's short turnaround jumper in the lane made it 61-52 with 1:14 remaining.

But Kevin Jones, a 6-foot-7 senior who has signed a national letter of intent to play for the University of West Virginia next season, scored a layup 13 seconds later and 6-3 junior guard Sherrod Wright's two-handed slam dunk effectively sealed the victory with 37 seconds left by making it 65-52.

"I'm glad we got the lead when we did, because they're a tough team and ('Iolani coach Mark) 'Doc' (Mugiishi) always has them ready," said Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino. "They're very good at clock control, so we were fortunate to have that lead early."

Wright, who finished with a game-high 26 points, and Jones (16 points) sparked a 13-0 run in the first period which put the Knights up 17-4. Wright, who is being recruited by Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Xavier among others, scored 10 points in the second quarter to help Mount Vernon take a 36-17 halftime lead.

The Knights extended the lead to 57-37 entering the fourth period, and seemed to be in control until the Raiders began applying full-court pressure with about four minutes remaining.

Kela Marciel followed Wong's 3-pointer with a steal and layup, then freshman Trevyn Tulonghari scored back-to-back baskets to cut it to 61-50 with 2:23 left.

"They did a really good job stepping up their defense, and we made some uncharacteristic turnovers," Cimmino said.

Junior forward Pablo Warner, who led 'Iolani with 25 points, said the Raiders made it a point to finish strong.

"We set a goal," Warner said. "We wanted to get back as much points as we could. We were pretty excited, because we finally started working as a team."

Mugiishi had a good news-bad news outlook after the game.

"The good news is that now we know our 'quick' team can play like that," Mugiishi said. "The bad news is I don't know why we couldn't play like that in the first half."

RICE (N.Y.) 59 MASON COUNTY (KY.) 48

University of Connecticut-bound point guard Kemba Walker scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out three assists and made three steals to help the Raiders — ranked No. 10 in USA Today's Super 25 — rally past the Royals.

Mason County, from Maysville, Ky., led 40-33 early in the fourth period. But Dorvel Carter's layup with 2:59 remaining broke a 47-47 tie and started Rice on a 10-0 run capped by Walker's two free throws which put the Raiders up 57-47 with 29.9 seconds left.

Rice made all 10 of its free-throw attempts in the final 1:40.

Xavier-bound shooting guard Chris Fouch added 15 points and four rebounds for the Raiders, and Durand Scott contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.

Trevor Setty led the Royals with 18 points and grabbed six rebounds. Russ Middleton added 12 points and Ethan King contributed 10 points and five rebounds.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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