Nichols pours in 32 to lead Crusaders past Rams, 89-71

CJ Caraang | SL

ALIAMANU — In his pre-game speech Thursday afternoon, Saint Louis coach Allan Silva emphasized defense.

His team followed through, riding a 12-0 opening run and a game-high 32 points from senior center Tristan Nichols, en route to an 89-71 win over Radford on the second day of the 17th Annual James Alegre Basketball Invitational.

The Crusaders, who led throughout the contest, improved to 2-0 in the preseason. They had four players score in double figures. Noa Purcell had 16 points, Jaymason Nunuha added 16 and Isaac Slade-Matautia chipped in with 10.

Nichols, a transfer from Maui High, scored 17 points in the first half. He was 8 of 10 from the free-throw line and had at least seven points in each quarter.

"(Wednesday) night we didn't have a great start," Nichols said of a 55-39 win over Farrington. "We were down for a little bit and our defense didn't really start that well and coach said our emphasis this game was defense and we came out and did what we had to do to limit points."

Thursday night, Saint Louis forced turnovers on Radford's first three possessions of the game and scored on its first eight trips down the court.

The Rams got their first points at the 5:25 mark in the first quarter on a pair of free throws by Brandon Campbell, but were already trailing by 10 by then. Jordan Gober hit a 3-pointer to cut the Crusader lead to 16-5, but Nichols converted a three-point play to stretch it back to a 14-point advantage.

Radford went on a 10-2 run to pull within 25-15 and trailed after one quarter, 27-15.

Silva said the key to the hot start stemmed from defensive intensity.

"They played good man-to-man (defense) and they played well, they played together. It was probably the best defense they've played," said Silva, who is in his first year coaching at his alma mater after coming over from Farrington.

Saint Louis held a 46-31 lead at halftime and stretched it to 67-39 following a 8-0 run capped by Purcell's outback. It led by as many as 35 points midway through the fourth quarter when Drew Kobayashi hit both ends of a one-and-one.

Nichols, who was limited to nine points Wednesday, said there is still much work to be done.

"Right now we're not anywhere close to where we can be," Nichols said. "We're still putting up good numbers, playing as a team. It's all new faces this year and we're just trying to work together because it's still early in the season just to get that bond."

Silva echoed Nichols' sentiment, noting that the team has had just one week of practice under its belt.

"We're just beginning," Silva said. "A lot of the things we've put in offensively and defensively and some good consistency across the board would be nice every quarter. I like to platoon, if possible, and so we've got to bring everyone up to the same level."

Brandon Campbell led Radford with 15 points. Sean Murasik made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points for the Rams, who fell to 0-2.

Radford, which made 10 treys for the game, will play Lahainaluna at 3:30 Saturday.

Saint Louis faces Leilehua at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Moanalua at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].