Oak Ridge blazes past Christ the King to win Iolani Classic

Oak Ridge's Jamier Jones (1) goes up for the dunk in the second quarter of the Iolani Classic Championship game at Iolani’s Father Kenneth A. Bray Athletic Center Lower Gym. Jones scored 18 points for the Pioneers. CJ Caraang | SL

Five different Pioneers scored in double figures to lead Oak Ridge (Orlando, Florida) past Christ the King (Queens, New York), 83-67, to win their first-ever Iolani Classic crown on Friday.

The Pioneers came to the Classic in 2018 and finished fourth, however, this time around, they're heading back to Orlando with some hardware.

Jamier Jones led the Pioneers with 18 points and seven rebounds, Jordan Tilery added 15 points, Jalen Reece (Most Valuable Player) and Cameron Simpson each added 14, and Tyler Johnson had 10 and eight boards, and five assists.

"I feel great, this is what we came out here for. To make it to the championship game and win it," Jones said. "Just winning this one this year, we're going up. We're going to shock a lot of people."

"It feels good, none of our team from our school made it ever so it feels good to be the first to win it all," Reece, the coach's son, said.

Dwayne Pierce, named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, scored a game-high 23 points.

Jayden Ramirez added 16, Markell Alston chipped in 13 and Qingfang Pang with 11 and five rebounds to finish as the Iolani Classic runner up.

The Royals took a 11-4 lead in the first quarter following Pang's steal and flush in transition. The Pioneers rallied with a 7-0 run that included Simpson's deep triple to tie the game at 11. Reece and Tilery followed up with consecutive buckets and Alston drove to the rim to beat the buzzer to trail, 16-13.

"We knew we came here for one goal and it was to win it all. We had to win it all by having fun and staying together as a team," Reece said.

Oak Ridge erupted for a 28-point quarter to take a 19-point lead going into halftime. Simpson, named the Pest Tech Sharpshooter in the tournament, hit three 3-pointers from deep to score 11 of his points in the quarter. The Pioneers closed out the quarter on a 10-3 run to lead, 44-25 at the half.

In the third, Jones threw down a dunk in the lane and Reece added a layup. Johnson scored off the inbounds to put the Pioneers ahead by 20, their largest lead of the game.

"It's fun, you throw it up and see who gets it," Reece said, running the point in transition.

The Royals battled back to open the fourth on a 11-0 run led by Pierce's nine points to trim the deficit down to nine with 5:52 to go but could not get any closer. The Pioneers scored the next 25 points, highlighted by Jones throwing down alley oop lobs from Johnson and Tilery to get the crowd on its feet.

"That's how we got our fast break points," Jones said, noting their defense.

"Our coaches say play defense, one stop at a time. We had to score when they couldn't score," Reece said.

The Pioneers led by as much as 19 in the final period before the Royals made six of their seven free throws to close out the game.

Iolani Classic All-Tournament Team and Awardees

Pupu Sepulona, Saint Louis
Jeremiah White, Kaimuki
Christian Togiai, Kamehameha-Kapalama
Roman Gabriel, Mililani
Dylan Labuhn, The Masters Academy
Nela Taliauli, Iolani
Eric Chatfield, Pace Academy
Trey Williams, Jr., Pace Academy
Malcolm Thomas, DeMatha Catholic
Ace Meeks, DeMatha Catholic
Kade Bonam, St. John Bosco
Brandon McCoy, St. John Bosco
Elzie Harrington, St. John Bosco
Qingfang Pang, Christ the King
Markell Alston, Christ the King
Jamier Jones, Oak Ridge
Cameron Simpson, Oak Ridge
Tyler Johnson, Oak Ridge

Most Outstanding Player: Dwayne Pierce, Christ the King

Most Valuable Player: Jalen Reece, Oak Ridge

Pest Tech Sharpshooter: Cameron Simpson, Oak Ridge

Ray Wong One Team Award: Kaimuki

Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].