La Lumiere wins first-ever Iolani Classic title


The La Lumiere boys basketball team pose for a photo after winning the Iolani Classic. CJ Caraang | SL

ALA WAI — It wasn't exactly the real championship game, but La Lumiere (La Porte, Indiana) took care of business on court and needed some help to win their first-ever Iolani Classic title Saturday night.

The Lakers defeated Oak Ridge (Orlando, Florida), 72-58 and in the final game of the night, Montverde did La Lumiere a favor by defeating Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California), 57-49.

"It's a great learning experience and a lot of teachable moments we will be walking away from here. It's a good shot of confidence to the arm. We have to keep building on it and we are far from being a finished product. We are not playing our best basketball right now and it gives us motivation going into the second half of our season," La Lumiere coach Patrick Holmes said.

The Lakers finished with the best record at 4-0 in the tournament and the Trailblazers and Eagles each finished 3-1.

"We were excited to get back here and we never won it. It was definitely a little different not playing in the real championship game and we knew that coming in here given we are not part of our state association and California wouldn't allow it," Holmes said.

La Lumiere, ranked No. 5 in USA Today beat top-ranked Montverde, 58-51 on Friday that would've set up a matchup with Sierra Canyon, but since the Trailblazers belong to the California Interscholastic Federation, their rules prohibit members from playing teams like the Lakers who do not belong to a state federation.

La Lumiere's 6-foot-9 forward Isaiah Stewart was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and led the way with a double-double of 25 points and 13 boards and Keion Brooks added 18 points as the Lakers improved to 10-2 overall in the Classic.

"He's the ultimate competitor," Holmes said of Stewart. "He doesn't have an off switch and he goes full speed. That's what makes Isaiah special and he plays with a chip on his shoulder."

"I'm feeling blessed. This is my sixth or seventh game back from a minor injury. We got some wins down here with my team down here and I'm ready to get back at it," Stewart said.

Kaleb Coleman (17 points) sank three of Oak Ridge's four triples in the opening period and the Lakers answered with four of their own as both teams combined for eight 3's until La Lumiere took a 22-14 lead after the first period.

Christopher Walker and Jalen Smith each hit 3's to tie the game at 22 in the second quarter. La Lumiere went on a 6-0 run after Stewart converted a bucket in the paint to force a timeout.

The Lakers extended their lead by 10 after a pair of free throws from Keion Brooks and led, 39-28 at halftime.

Walker led Oak Ridge with 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and got the Pioneers within seven, 39-32 off a pair of free throws, but Wendell Green hit timely jump shots, including on that beat the buzzer.

Niven Glover's free throws brought Oak Ridge within eight, 50-42, but the Pioneers could get no closer as La Lumiere proved to be too much with Gerald Drumgoole scoring eight of his 13 points and Stewart converting two 3-point play opportunities in the fourth quarter.

"That's the type of player I am. I work hard for everything. I try to do everything I can to impact my team in a positive way," Stewart said.

Pioneers shot 10 of 31 from the field in the first half and finished 22 of 63, including 6 of 27 from behind the arc.

"We got some tough dudes and we won this thing because we defended," Holmes said.

Montverde 57, Sierra Canyon 49

Montverde (Florida) bounced from their loss last night to the Lakers to deny the sixth-ranked Trailblazers a share of the Classic title.

Moses Moody led the Eagles with 16 points and shot 9 of 10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to help Montverde pull away.

The game was tied at 23 at the half and Sierra Canyon led, 38-37 heading into the fourth quarter.

Harlond Beverly's tip in to made it 43-39 and Moody sank two free throws to make it, 45-39. Sierra Canyon brought the score within one twice after Scotty Pippen Jr. drained a 3-pointer and made a layup and Cassius Stanley made a jumper, but the Eagles got it done from the charity stripe to create separation.

The Eagles shot 18 of 34 from the free throw line for the game, including 10 of 14 in the fourth quarter.

Stanley led Sierra Canyon with 18 points and seven rebounds and Pippen, Jr. and Kenyon Martin, Jr. each added 13 points in the loss.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].