'Iolani boys basketball coach Mark Mugiishi got what he wanted Thursday night against Saint Louis.

The Raiders played at a fast tempo against one of the bigger teams in the state, and they hit free throws down the stretch when things got close.

Four 'Iolani players reached double-figures, and the Raiders used a quick start to beat visiting Saint Louis, 59-49, in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu showdown.

'Iolani, ranked No. 1 in The Advertiser's Top 10 poll, improved to 8-1, a half-game behind first-place Punahou (9-1). No. 4 Saint Louis dropped to 7-3.

The Raiders used an aggressive man-to-man defense and half-court trap to force 10 turnovers and build a 30-13 halftime lead.

"We figured out we're a better team when the tempo is faster," Mugiishi said. "We were able to do that today and it worked to our advantage."

Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan said: "We just didn't have it, especially in the first half. Turnovers killed us."

In the first half, 'Iolani was 11 of 20 from the field, while Saint Louis was just 4 of 19.

"Offensively, we put our defense in a bad position. We couldn't score in the first half," Tengan said.

Ryan Dung scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half. Liloa Nobriga finished with 14 points, Case Miyahira 11 and Taylor Mounts 10 for 'Iolani.

Saint Louis' Scott Smith, a 6-foot-7 center, scored just six points over the first three quarters. He finished with 14 points.

"The more possessions we have and the more up and down the floor we go, the less impact the really good big man has," Mugiishi said. "Scott Smith is one of the best big men in the state this year."

The Crusaders closed to 48-43 with 1:48 remaining after a field goal by Kulia Aiona, but Nobriga answered with a three-point play and the Raiders hit 6 of 7 free-throw attempts in the final 1:20.

"We weren't aggressive until the second half," Tengan said. "In the second half, when we got aggressive inside that's when we started scoring. We needed to be that way in the first half, but we were behind so far it's hard to come back against a good ball club like 'Iolani."

In the fourth quarter, Saint Louis hit 8 of its first 11 shots, and 'Iolani committed seven of its 12 turnovers.

"They are just an outstanding athletic team," Mugiishi said. "When they cranked up the pressure we struggled with it. Once we settled down we got to the line and made our free throws."

'Iolani converted 14 of 18 free-throw attempts. In its previous three games, 'Iolani was 38 of 63 (.600) from the line.

SAINT LOUIS (7-3) 6 7 11 25 — 49

'IOLANI (8-1) 15 15 10 19 — 59

SAINT LOUIS — Ricksson Pacarro 0, Kuli'a Aiona 2, John Quindara 0, Lucas Gonsalves 3, Scott Smith 14, Kyle Gonzaga 0, Cole Shidaki 8, Solomona Aigamaua 11, Geordon Hanohano 0, Michael Tuiloma 2, Micah McClinton 3, Jacob Barit 0, Jamison Miller 0, Siunipa Fiefia 6. Totals 18 11-14 49.

'IOLANI — Kela Marciel 2, Ryan Dung 15, Case Miyahira 11, Taylor Mounts 10, Liloa Nobriga 14, Lionel Fujioka 0, Berton Wong 5, Bricen McCartney 0, Pablo Warner 2. Totals 21 14-18 59. 3-point goals: Saint Louis 2 (Gonsalves, McClinton). 'Iolani 3 (Dung 2, Wong 1).

MARYKNOLL 68, DAMIEN 51: Reyn Higa and Travis Liu each scored 14 points, and Christian Bueno-Kanei and Jordan Ho-Ching each added 10 to lead the Spartans.

MARYKNOLL (2-7) 10 13 13 32 — 68

DAMIEN (0-10) 3 11 15 22 — 51

MARYKNOLL — Rian Huizingh 2, Tyler Terai , Reyn Higa 14, Garrick Chock 1, Christian Bueno-Kanei 10, Justin Correia 7, Travis Liu 14, Tim Adora 1, Jordan Ho-Ching 10, Jordan Napolean 3, Ross Lum 6. Totals 15 38-46 68.

DAMIEN — Nikko Romuar 6, Mitch Cabreros 0, Anthony Tuitele 19, Aminis Thompson 11, Austin Dawson 0, Kai'ako'ili Lima 5, Kenneth Rossi, Jr. 2, Haku Correa 4, Christian Vasconcellos 4, Sione Tau 0. Totals 18 11-20 51. 3-point goals: Maryknoll none. Damien 4 (Tuitele 3, Romuar).

Reported by Kalei Victorino

ILH DIVISION II

'IOLANI 62, LE JARDIN 32: Troy Lee and Matt Smith each scored 12 points, and the Raiders were never in trouble after taking a 12-2 first-quarter lead in an ILH Division II victory.

LE JARDIN (0-11) 2 11 7 12 — 32

'IOLANI (8-3) 12 22 12 16 — 62

LE JARDIN — Thomas Wilson 0, Keegan Sussman 1, David Siemann 0, Matt Penaroza 0, Jono Kam 12, Adam Trecker 0, Alex Johnston , Josh Blau 17, Max Rausch 2, Ryan Murphy 0. Totals 11 8-13 32.

'IOLANI — Reid Furukawa 2, Ryan Renfro 8, Daniel Takami 0, Tyler Hee 4, Kyle Kumashiro 6, Rylan Morihara 0, Matt Smith 12, Peter Takara 2, Mason Choy 2, Troy Lee 12, Nate Yang 0, Brandon Ching 2, Bo Wen 6, Dylan Kuwabe 0, Trevor Yoshioka 6. Totals 26 10-14 62.

3-point goals: Le Jardin 2 (Kam 2).

KAMEHAMEHA 50, HAWAI'I BAPTIST 39: Josiah Horner scored 24 points to lead the Warriors past the Eagles.

HAWAI'I BAPTIST (8-3) 5 7 7 20 — 39

KAMEHAMEHA (7-4) 9 12 9 20 — 50

HAWAI'I BAPTIST — Reid Morihara 0, Dayne Kato 0, Daniel Baek 0, Jon China 0, Joshua Thompson 2, Jason Iha 4, Ryan Sakai 2, Joshua Baek 4, Jason Liang 7, Phillip Sarubbi 7, Sean Lum 0, Dominic Hart 11, Kyle Barretta 2. Totals 10 17-26 39.

KAMEHAMEHA — Conway Kaka 2, Kai Riellet 6, Josiah Horner 24, Darrin Krampert 1, Micah Higa 3, Kendall Willing 5, Noble Ah Choy 0, Jeremiah Pahukula 9. Totals not available. 3-point goals: Hawai'i Baptist 2 (Iha, J. Baek). Kamehameha 4 (Riellet 2, Horner, Higa).

OIA WHITE EAST

KAISER 64, MCKINLEY 61: Andrew Wingert scored 22 points, Jake Esteban added 15 and the Cougars outscored the Tigers 9-6 in overtime to improve to 10-1 in the OIA White East.

MCKINLEY (7-4) 16 8 13 18 6 — 61

KAISER (10-1) 20 13 11 11 9 — 64

MCKINLEY — Jelani Thabiti 0, Tilton Kaluna 8, Bryce Ishikawa 0, Ryan Flordeliza 0, Jefferson Pou 0, Julius Borje 1, Earvin Sione 3, Nainoa Lessary 25, Rey Vincent Enanoria 12, Jonathan Lee 4, Ian Paez 0, Isaac Iuta 3, Travis Asing 0, Austin Yoon 0, Oliver Diguc 5. Totals 21 16-20 61.

KAISER — Jake Esteban 15, Kalani Calizar 3, TR Phillips 2, Kalua Noa 5, Andrew Wingert 22, Tyler Norden 6, Brannon Wong 1, Jeff Gordon 0, Mychal Nagata 0, Patrick Twohy 0, Rayce Chun-Ming 8, Salele Aliifua 2. Totals 23 11-19 64. 3-point goals: McKinley 3 (Vincent-Enanoria 2, Lessary). Kaiser 7 (Wingert 4, Estebam 2, Norden). JV — McKinley 53, Kaiser 48

Reported by Shawn Nagata

THOMPSON AT KALANI: Thursday game was postponed until Friday because of possible electrical blackouts.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.