Foothill's Elijah Smith was named the Merv Lopes Classic's Most Outstanding Player. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Foothill players hoist the trophy after winning the title game of the Merv Lopes Hoops Classic. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kapolei's Christopher Dillard puts up a shot attempt against Foothill. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Kapolei's Joshua Wills battles Foothill's Chris Echols for the basketball. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Foothill's Torrance Littles puts a shot up over the defense of Kapolei's Matthew Henderson. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Sat, Dec 29, 2012 @ Manoa Gym

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Kapolei

49

Foothill

59

Final	1	2	3	4
Kapolei (12-1, 20-10)	7	16	13	13	49
Foothill	15	18	12	14	59

A. Starr 26 pts  6 3pm  4/6 FTs

C. Dillard 17 pts  2 3pm  5/6 FTs

MANOA – Austin Starr scored a game-high 26 points and Torrance Littles added 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Foothill (Nev.) to the Saint Francis Merv Lopes Holiday Classic title with a 59-49 win over Kapolei Saturday at Manoa Valley Recreation Center Gymnasium.

About 250 fans saw the Falcons, from Henderson, Nev., lead throughout to lay claim to the championship trophy to culminate the four day, 16-team tournament. Foothill defeated Farrington in the opening round, Kalaheo in a quarterfinal and Thousand Oaks (Calif.) in a semifinal to reach the final.

"I'm very pleased," Foothill coach Kevin Soares said. "That was one of our goals, to win the tournament, but our main goal is to try and become state champs and this is a step in that direction."

The Falcons played tight man-to-man defense and relied upon the outside shooting of Starr, a 6-foot-2 guard, and the inside presence of Littles, a 6-foot-6 forward. Starr made six 3-pointers and Littles grabbed several key rebounds and hit three critical free throws down the stretch.

"I was feeling it, (but) I shot a lot, so I'm glad that I could contribute to our win," said Starr, who had 11 points in the first quarter alone.

He participated in the tournament's 3-point contest prior to the start of the championship game.

"I was feeling it after that," Starr said.

Foothill guard Elijah Smith, who scored a combined 55 points in his team's three previous wins in the tournament, was held scoreless.

"Our thing is we have a bench that can fill up whoever needs help or whoever is in foul trouble, so I'm glad everybody stepped up and helped out," Starr said.

Foothill got 27 points from its bench players to Kapolei's four.

The Falcons built an early 6-0 first-quarter lead off a pair of Starr 3-pointers and held a 15-7 advantage to start the second quarter. Foothill continued its hot shooting in the second quarter and after David Persi scored the final four points of the period, the Falcons took a 33-23 lead into halftime.

The teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter before Kapolei made its run in the fourth. The Hurricanes had trailed by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, but fought to within 51-47 following a Joshua Wills free throw with 1:46 remaining.

However, Foothill made enough of its free-throw attempts (4 of 8) down the stretch and Littles scored the final five points to help his team hang on.

"Foothill played really well, they're a great team and they're coached well," Kapolei coach Gary Ellison said. "For our boys, we fought hard. We don't usually show this much heart, but tonight it showed us a lot. It showed us that they really believe that they really, really have it in them."

Christopher Dillard scored a team-high 17 points, Joshua Wills had 12 and Curtis Tavares added 10 for the Hurricanes, who shot just 24.5 percent (13 of 53) from the field.

Kapolei hosts Mililani in its Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West Conference opener Thursday.