Saint Francis' Kalani Akana drives past Carver's Demetrius Houston. Evan Asato | SL

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Carver's Kendrekus Jackson goes up for a shot against Saint Francis. Evan Asato | SL

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Wed, Dec 19, 2012 @ Punahou

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Saint Francis

39

GW Carver

66

Final	1	2	3	4
Saint Francis (9-0, 25-5)	3	16	9	11	39
GW Carver	23	14	17	12	66

J. Johnson 13 pts  2 3pm  3/4 FTs

A. Ursua 11 pts  3/5 FTs

Jeremy Johnson scored a game-high 13 points to lead George Washington Carver (Montgomery, Ala.) to a 66-39 rout of Saint Francis Wednesday in a first-round game of the Punahou Boys Basketball Invitational.

An afternoon crowd of about 100 at the Buffanblu's Hemmeter Fieldhouse witnessed the Wolverines (2-0) dominate the Saints (5-2) for most of the contest. Carver, the reigning Alabama class 6A state champion, outmatched Saint Francis, a Division II team from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, with its athleticism and height.

Carver built a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter off an Anthony Jarrett 3-pointer before Saint Francis got on the board with a trey from Matthew Nuumanaia. However, the Wolverines went on a 21-0 run, including a 16-0 run to close out the opening quarter.

Saint Francis outscored Carver, 16-14, in the second quarter, led by Shabir Lynton's five points in the period.

"I think our guys don't understand sometimes, in a game, they think that 'Well, we went up this high,' and they kind of lay off," Carver coach James Jackson said. "The biggest thing for us is to attack, attack, attack and then maybe in that fourth quarter that's when we can back off, but it's going to come over time."

Carver led at halftime, 37-19.

Layne Kalani Akana's 3-pointer with five minutes and 12 seconds left in the third quarter cut the Wolverine's lead to 42-24, but Carver scored 12 of the next 14 points and led, 54-28, after three quarters.

Johnson, a 6-foot-6 guard who has verbally committed to play football at Auburn University next year, made two 3-pointers and 3 of 4 free throws. Jarrett scored nine points and Joseph Strugg and Brandon Austin added 8 points each for Carver.

Nuumanaia and Austin Ursua scored 11 apiece to lead the Saints.

The Wolverines are getting a late start to the basketball season after its football team made a run in the Alabama class 6A state tournament. Carver finished with a 13-2 record after it lost in the semifinals on Nov. 30. Johnson was the starting quarterback of the Wolverines' football team.

"This is just our second game. We're ranked no. 1 in the state of Alabama, but we've played only two games, so we're going to be rusty - I was trying to explain that to our kids - it's not going to happen overnight, you know, we've just got to keep working and keep working until we get it right where we want it," Jackson said. "We're just trying to work ourselves into a little bit more basketball shape and a little bit more basketball mind."

Saint Francis coach Sol Batoon was happy with the effort from his team, despite the lopsided score.

"You know, to beat a team like this, for us, it would be a little impossible. They have physicality that we just cannot match up with, but our kids played hard the whole time and never gave up," Batoon said. "(Carver's) got long arms and they're quick, they take long steps and our guys are 5-2 and 5-6, so when you play against guys like that - and you know, they're the state champs of Alabama, a 6A school - we're a Division II school with maybe 400 kids, so I think our kids held up well."

Carver, which led by as many as 28 points, emptied its bench, with 15 different players getting action. The Wolverines will play Maryknoll in a 3 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday, while Saint Francis takes on Kailua at 1:30 p.m.

PUNAHOU BOYS BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

Tuesday

First round results

At Hemmeter Fieldhouse

MARYKNOLL 54, KAILUA 44

Kaleb Gilmore scored 16 points, Tobias Schramm had 14 and Danny Danbara added 11 to lead the Spartans (9-0) past the Surfriders (5-2). Maryknoll held a 21-20 lead at halftime, but used a 19-6 advantage in the third quarter to hold off Kailua. Kirk Ronolo Jr. and Kekoa Ford scored 13 apiece and Mason Youart added 12 for the Surfriders, who will play in a consolation game against St. Francis at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Maryknoll will play in a 3 p.m. quarterfinal against Carver.

WILSON (ORE.) 56, MILILANI 41

Jack Rubin scored 15 points, Phillip Platt added 14 and Bailey Sadorf 12 to help the Trojans from Portland, Ore. beat the Trojans from the Oahu Interscholastic Association. Wilson held a 24-23 halftime lead and ran away with it after outscoring Mililani, 19-4, in the third quarter. Mililani (1-4) was led by Sylvester Panoncillo and will play Punahou II in a consolation game at 1 p.m. Thursday. Wilson plays King Kekaulike in a quarterfinal game at 2:30 p.m.

KING KEKAULIKE 60, PUNAHOU II 59

Gabe Gunter and Jacob Havron scored 17 points apiece to carry Na Alii (1-0) past the Buffanblu (1-3). King Kekulike led by 15 after three quarters and withheld a late rally from Punahou II. Taylor Barfield led the Buffanblu with a game-high 22 points and Daniel Raffy Howe added 10. King Kekaulike plays Wilson in a 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday while Punahou II plays Mililani in a 1 p.m. consolation game.

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA) 71, CAMPBELL 45

Dane Pineau scored 26 points and Chris Kirton added 22 to lead Melbourne (1-0) past the Sabers (2-4). Pineau, a 6-foot-10 center who has verbally committed to play at Saint Mary's next year, scored 12 points in the first quarter and made 5 of 6 free throws. Gilbert Dayanan had 12 points to lead Campbell, which plays Farrington in a 10:30 a.m. consolation game Thursday. Melbourne will play in the 4 p.m. quarterfinal against Benson Tech.

BENSON TECH (ORE.) 80, FARRINGTON 56

Frank Norman led four players in double-figures as the Techmen (1-0) outscored the Governors (0-4) by a 45-22 margin in the second half. All nine Benson Tech players who saw action scored in a game that was deadlocked at 34-all at the intermission. The Farrington trio of Tyler Liana, Jacob McEnroe and Marco Cudia combined to score 45 of the team's 56 points.

BALDWIN 55, KONAWAENA 52 (OT)

The Bears (1-0) outlasted the Wildcats (0-2) in a tightly contested game that needed an extra period to determine a victor. Kody Takushi had a game-high 18 points and Phillip Thomas added 17 more to lead Baldwin. The Wildcats were very balanced offensively, with seven players contributing 5 points or more in the loss. Baldwin will take on host Punahou in a 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal, while Konawaena takes on fellow-BIIF member school Hawaii Prep at 11:30 a.m. in a consolation game.

PUNAHOU 73, HAWAII PREP 41

Nick Velasquez scored 19 points, including 5 three-pointers, to lead the Buffanblu (6-1) in a blowout win over Ka Makani (0-2). Punahou led 34-17 at halftime and got point production from 11 of the 12 players who took the court. Jovan Crnic had 12 points to lead Hawaii Prep.