Fri, Jan 22, 2016 @ Saint Louis

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Maryknoll

57

Saint Louis

59

Final	1	2	3	4
Maryknoll (3-8, 20-10)	12	12	13	20	57
Saint Louis (7-6, 21-8)	18	13	14	14	59

J. Nunuha 20 pts  3 3pm  3/3 FTs

B. Washington 17 pts  3/11 FTs

BMOC takes on a different meaning at Saint Louis School.

Tristan Nichols, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound senior, is a Big Man On Court for the Crusaders boys' basketball team. At least he was Friday night as No. 3 Saint Louis beat No. 7 Maryknoll, 59-57, to open the second-half round-robin of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I regular season at McCabe Gym.

The Crusaders improved to 5-1 and continue to lead the ILH, while the Spartans had their modest two-game win streak snapped and fell to 2-4.

Nichols was a force inside, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, scoring off three of them. He also displayed prowess from the perimeter with his first 3-pointer of the season to boot.

"He's a handful," Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said of Saint Louis' jumbo center. "Even if you're in good position to play defense on him, you're not in good position because he's so wide, he's so hard to defend. He's so wide and so long, you can lob the ball anywhere, he'll catch it. To me, he's the best player in the league right now."

OK, Nichols had one flaw. For some reason, he found himself bringing the ball down court early in the fourth quarter and wound up traveling. The turnover led to a Maryknoll basket that cut its deficit to 45-41.

"I told my guards, ‘He doesn't bring the ball up. Go get it,'" Saint Louis coach Allan Silva said. "'I know you guys are guarding, but go get the ball from his hand.'"

It's not that Nichols lumbered down court; he was pressured when the turnover happened. Nichols displayed his athleticism in nearly all aspects of the game.

"It's nice to have a big guy in the block," Silva said. "He's impressive in the block. He's strong. I mean, 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, he can move. He's very mobile."

Nichols, who said he will play defensive line at Colorado, brings a mentality to the court that Grant said he saw when he was coaching at Kaimuki.

"When you get football players that learn how to play basketball…" said Grant, who coached Kaimuki to the 2007 state title. "At Kaimuki, I had all these football players that learned to play basketball."

Grant went further complimenting Nichols.

"He's just a smart player," Grant said. "If he wasn't a smart player, I think we would win one of these (games). He's such a smart player. If we get another chance to play them in the playoffs, we have to prepare for him."

Nichols, who wowed Maui fans his power as a tight end at Baldwin two seasons ago, enjoys playing the aggressive game. Who knows what more damage he could have inflicted had he not fouled out with 3:17 left in the game.

"Usually, I try to play with a lot of aggressiveness," Nichols said. "Sometimes, it backfires on me, as you can see how I fouled out early. Most of the ILH teams are going to be coming after me and I just try to outplay them with my strength and aggressiveness. That's how I get my points."

Nichols wasn't the only shining Crusader. Guard Jaymason Nunuha, fifth in the Oahu Division I players with a 15.5 scoring average, led the Saints with 20 points, including three 3-pointers.

The Spartans opened with an 8-0 lead in part to the fine defensive play of Maryknoll's 6-6 center Brian Washington, who had two early steals that fueled the run. But the dangerous Nunuha showed why he is one of the island's scoring leader when he scored 10 of the Crusaders' first 13 points. Nichols scored his team's other eight points that gave Saint Louis an 18-12 lead entering the second quarter. Despite a 10-point, first-half effort by Maryknoll's Washington, who led his team with 17 points, the Spartans still took a 31-24 lead into the half.

Saint Louis' lead would go as high as eight during the second half, while Maryknoll managed close the gap to within 3 with 1:12 left after a layup by Hayato Kamata. The Spartans' hopes rose when Jett Tanuvasa was called for a charge with 1:07 left, turning the ball over to Maryknoll. But the Spartans not only missed a 3-point try, but also a layup after getting the offensive rebound. Tanuvasa was eventually fouled and converted both ends of a one-and-one give Saint Louis a 56-51 lead with 36 seconds.

Washington scored with 26 seconds left to make it a one-possession game. But the Crusaders caught the Spartans sleeping on a deep inbounds pass to Nunuha, who converted a three-point play with 24 seconds left to make it 59-53. It was a wide enough margin to overcome two late baskets by the Spartans in the closing seconds.

"We have to be able to make plays," Grant said. "That's basically it."