HONOLULU — It is a state title defense in name only for the Saint Louis Crusaders.
Coming off its first state boys basketball championship in 36 years, the hardwood Brotherhood is out to make a name for itself all over again in the 2023 Heide & Cook/HHSAA championships this week.
On Wednesday night, top-seeded yet youthful Saint Louis established itself inside against Kailua early, then survived a frantic comeback attempt to win 51-48 and advance to Thursday’s 7 p.m. semifinal against host Moanalua.
Earlier Wednesday, Moanalua outlasted BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawaii 54-49. On the other side of the bracket, OIA champion Campbell came back to defeat Kahuku, 43-40, and ILH runner-up Maryknoll shut down Kamehameha-Maui 41-19, at McKinley.
Gone is the starting five and nearly every key rotation player from Saint Louis’ 2022 title team. There are twice as many sophomores and freshmen (eight) on its roster as seniors and juniors (four). And yet, the Crusaders repeated as ILH champions.
“Really none of these guys got significant minutes last year,” coach Dan Hale said after breathing a sigh of relief that Surfrider guard Jonny Philbrick’s three-quarter court heave to tie banked harmlessly off the backboard. “They got a little bit, but not anything. Shoot, some of these guys were on JV last year. A couple were on JV this year and I pulled them up.
“It’s a young group; they’re learning every time and pressure’s coming more and more. I thought we did a good job down the stretch of just doing enough to fend off some big-time shots.”
Of the 13 Crusaders to see action in last year’s state championship game, only five are back and all of those players had limited roles. Case in point, Saint Louis’ new star forward, Pupualii Sepulona, played seven minutes with one field goal in that 57-34 rout of Mililani.
Sepulona, a thickly built 6-foot-2 sophomore who emerged as Saint Louis’ workhorse in the preseason, bulled his way to 20 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday. He was complemented by 6-3 junior center Jordan Posiulai, who had 16 points and 13 boards, including eight on the offensive end, as Saint Louis dominated the glass 38-21.
Sepulona said his team looked for a frontcourt mismatch whenever it could for high-low action.
“Even though we’re a young team, even though we’re not really experienced, we play our heart out,” Sepulona said. “A lot of teams overlook us, you know, but we still play our game and just prove them wrong, overall. Coming into this state tournament, a lot of schools had nothing to lose on us, especially as we come into the state tournament as the No. 1 seed.”
Kailua’s zone defense got destroyed on the boards in the first half and the Surfriders were limited to three points in the second quarter. The OIA contender fell behind by 17 midway through the third. But gradually, fullcourt pressure and chaos helped Kailua eke back into it as Kailua scored 14 straight points, bridging the third and fourth quarters behind Philbrick and forward Noa Donnelly.
Freshman Dylan Kunz hit a 3 with 41 seconds left to cut it to 48-46. After Saint Louis’ Keanu Meacham hit one of two at the line with 24 seconds left, Kailua had the ball in the halfcourt with its first chance to tie in the fourth, looking for its first semifinal appearance since 2019.
But Kailua turned it over.
Sepulona went 1-for-2 at the line, Kailua’s Maddox Pung got an uncontested layup and Sepulona again went 1-for-2 for the final margin.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Kailua coach Wally Marciel said after his team was denied a first semifinal appearance since 2019. “We’re down 12 at halftime and we came back and put a little more pressure on them. We sealed a little bit on rebounds, and that was the difference in the second half. First half, they dominated the boards and that put us in a bad situation.”
He glowed about Philbrick, the star senior guard and OIA player of the year contender who finished with 19 points and six steals, calling him a “hidden gem” that would make a coach happy at the next level.
“I think I just gotta get myself out there,” said Philbrick, who shot 7-for-14. “Make a tape, do all that application stuff. Just gotta search my options.”
Can Moanalua parlay another home playoff game into a surprise state title appearance?
Na Menehune, who were the sixth of six OIA teams to qualify for the state tournament, upset Mililani on the road on Monday to earn a home game against Kamehameha-Hawaii on Wednesday.
With the game tied at 41 going into the fourth quarter, Na Menehune scored the first seven points of the final period and held off the Warriors.
Senior guard Skylar Miyasato led Moanalua with 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
“We’ve talked about all year, we’re not going to be the team that cracks,” Moanalua coach Brandon Dumlao said. “And right now we’re probably playing our best basketball that we have done all season.”
With Moanalua as a predetermined playoff site, Na Menehune has had all the comforts of home, something Saint Louis’ Hale half-jokingly said he wished his team enjoyed.
“The stars kind of aligned for us getting into that half of the bracket,” Dumlao said. “We’re lucky to have that happen and hopefully we can take advantage of it. The crowd was great, the students showed up, so hopefully there’s going to be more (Thursday).”
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.