Top-ranked Punahou dominates Saint Louis, 71-48

Punahou's Danny Andrews goes up for a point-blank shot against Saint Louis. Evan Asato | SL

Despite missing players to a volleyball trip, Punahou showed why it is first in the ScoringLive/OC 16 Division I Power Rankings.

Daniel Andrews scored a game-high 19 points and Dayson Watanabe added 12 and the Buffanblu cruised past Saint Louis, 71-48, in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu season opener for both teams at Hemmeter Fieldhouse at Punahou.

Kevin Marks led the Crusaders (14-5 overall, 0-1 ILH) with 17 points with six rebounds and a steal.

Punahou (16-0 overall, 1-0 ILH) broke open a close game with a 14-0 run in the final four minutes of the first quarter. Though the Crusaders outscored the Buffanblu 16-15 in the second quarter to make it 42-25 at the half, Punahou ran way in the third behind Andrews' eight third-quarter points. Watanabe scored nine of his 12 in the second half.

There was no stopping the 6-foot-7 Andrews, who also pulled down eight rebounds.

"He's a senior and I think he's really coming into his own," Punahou coach Darren Matsuda said. "He had a really good trip in California, too. He played against some really big guys up there, 6-10, 6-9, 6-8 kids."

Punahou was without Micah Ma'a and Justin Kam because of a volleyball tour, Matsuda said. They were to return Sunday and will be available for the Buffanblu's next game on Wednesday against Kamehameha.

Randon Oda and Blake Wade filled the void. They had four and six points, respectively.

"Randon played really well," Matsuda said. "He's always been a great defender. Today, he gave us a lot of offense, too. I was really pleased with that."

Matsuda said that Kalai Santos, who had nine points, also played well.

"Guys definitely stepped up," Matsuda said. "Blake Wade, Davis (Miyashiro-Saipaia) filled those gaps. Our defense was really good today. Our kids played really hard, played the kind of game we wanted to play today."

Punahou was able to clear its bench; it entered the fourth quarter with a commanding 63-31 lead. The Crusaders had a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter - their best stretch of offense in the game - to cut their deficit to 23.

It doesn't get easier for Saint Louis, which plays Wednesday at Maryknoll.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].