Saint Louis' Ihaka Johnson puts up a jumper against Kalaheo. Evan Asato | SL

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Saint Louis' Wallen Te'o puts up a shot in the paint against Kalaheo. Evan Asato | SL

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Saint Louis' Jedidah Lulu and Kevin Marks defend a shot attempt by Kalaheo's Kupa'a Harrison. Evan Asato | SL

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Thu, Dec 26, 2013 @

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Kalaheo

37

Saint Louis

40

Final	1	2	3	4
Kalaheo (11-3, 26-10)	6	10	14	7	37
Saint Louis (2-9, 11-13)	11	12	6	11	40

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

I. Johnson 14 pts  1 3pm  5/8 FTs

A. Macleod 14 pts  2 3pm  0/1 FTs

W. Te'o 6 tot

K. Harrison 8 tot

J. Nunuha III 5 ast

D. Delcastillo 5 ast

Saint Louis didn't generate a whole of offense, but put just enough points on the board to keep defending Division I state champion Kalaheo at bay to preserve a 40-37 win in the opening round game of the Saint Francis/Merv Lopes Holiday Classic.

The Crusaders hit just 11-of-23 free throws in the contest, was 1-of-11 from the three-point line and just 14-of-40 (35%) overall from the field, but got the shots to fall when they were needed most.

"In order for us to be in games (in the ILH), we gotta hit our free throws, and our guys know that," said Saint Louis head coach Keith Spencer. "But our kids perservered today, they came out and lost the lead and we (came back) and got the victory."

After trailing much of the contest, Kalaheo rallied in the third to take a 30-29 lead at the buzzer on a Kupa'a Harrison baseline jumper.

Saint Louis was able to reclaim the lead from the line, as Ihaka Johnson knocked down four consecutive free throws to give the Crusaders back the lead in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, and Jimmy Nunuha III's jumper just beyond the charity stripe increased the margin to 5 at 35-30 with about 4:02 left in regulation.

Alex Macleod had what appeared to be a decent look at a three from the left corner to bring the Mustangs back to within a point, but the Crusaders' Wallen Te'o closed quickly and batted the attempt with authority off of the gym wall just feet away from the baseline.

"Coach just told us to not let any threes go down, so I did my best to not let any," said Te'o.

To Macleod's credit, he got a another chance two possessions later from the left wing and capitalized, trimming the margin to just a deuce with 20.6 ticks left.

Kalaheo fouled on the inbounds and Saint Louis made the first, but missed the second from the free throw line in the dying seconds, giving Kalaheo got the ball back with 7.5 left with a chance for the tie.

Harrison caught a difficult lob over the pressing Crusaders and was able to navigate the ball down into the front court, where he found Macleod for the potential game tying shot, but the ball caromed off the rim and fell to the court as the final buzzer sounded.

The Crusaders led for much of the first half, and held a 15-6 advantage at a about the 6:27 mark in the second thanks in large part to a full-court press that gave the Mustangs fits.

"We play full-court defense and our half-court defense has gotten a lot better. It was little bit of (teaching) techniques, getting hands up in the people's face," said Spencer. "We have a tendency to keep our hands down, but overall we've done a good job so far."

Saint Louis led 23-16 at halftime.

Johnson led the Crusaders with 14 points and Nunuha added 10 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Te'o contributed six points, six rebounds and the aforementioned block.

The Kalaheo duo of Macleod and Harrison combined for 26 of the Mustangs' 37 points, as well as 7 of the 15 assists.

Up next for Saint Louis is Santa Margarita (Ca.), a 53-33 winner over Leilehua, in a 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal Friday, while Kalaheo will face the Mules in a 12:00 p.m. matchup in the consolation bracket.