Wire to wire, Saint Louis kept the No. 1 ranking.
The Crusaders closed out their first boys basketball state title in 36 years with the top spot in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 on Monday. Saint Louis, guided by Dan Hale, swept through the bracket with wins over Kahuku, Baldwin and Mililani to capture the Division I crown at the Heide & Cook/HHSAA State Championships.
Saint Louis shared the top ranking with ‘Iolani in the season-opening poll of coaches and media back on Jan. 2. After that, the Crusaders have held sole possession. Maryknoll was at No. 2 for a couple of weeks, then Punahou moved in.
‘Iolani returned to the second spot and stayed there until this week. OIA champion Mililani edged the Raiders in overtime at the state semifinals. It is the highest finish ever in the Top 10 for Mililani boys basketball.
Maui Prep, which visited the poll early in the season, re-entered at No. 8 after dominating the field in the D-II state championships. Na Pueo landed at No. 8 on Monday, ahead of Kamehameha and Punahou, bumping previous D-II state champion Kohala out of the Top 10.
MIL champ Baldwin moved up four notches and finished at No. 5. The Bears and their 6-7, 6-7, 6-6 front court gave Saint Louis its closest battle at the state tourney, losing to the Crusaders, 40-32.
Star-Advertiser Boys Basketball Top 10 final
Feb. 28, 2022
Rank School (overall, regular-season record) Pts LW
1. Saint Louis (11) (20-2, 10-2 ILH) 110 1
> def. No. 6 Kahuku 63-36, Thursday
> def. No. 9 Baldwin 40-32, Friday
> def. No. 6 Mililani 57-34, Saturday
2. Mililani (17-2, 10-0 OIA West) 95 3
> def. No. 4 Maryknoll 49-43, Thursday
> def. No. 2 ‘Iolani 45-39, OT, Friday
> lost to No. 1 Saint Louis 57-34, Saturday
3. ‘Iolani (17-7, 9-3 ILH) 89 2
> def. Roosevelt, Monday
> def. Hilo 57-21, Thursday
> lost to No. 3 Mililani 45-39, OT, Friday
> def. No. 9 Baldwin 68-50, Saturday
4. Maryknoll (15-7, 8-4 ILH) 67 4
> won @ Kamehameha-Maui 44-34, Monday
> lost to No. 3 Mililani 49-43, Thursday
> def. Hilo 53-29, Friday
> def. No. 7 Kahuku 49-47, Saturday
5. Baldwin (12-6, 7-1 MIL D-I) 64 9
> def. No. 5 Kailua 60-57, Thursday
> lost to No. 1 Saint Louis 40-32, Friday
> lost to No. 2 ‘Iolani 68-50, Saturday
6. Kahuku (14-4, 10-1 OIA East) 45 6
> won @ Kamehameha-Hawaii, Monday
> lost to No. 1 Saint Louis 63-36, Thursday
7. Kailua (16-4, 11-0 OIA East) 37 5
> def. Kapolei, Monday
> lost to No. 9 Baldwin 60-57, Thursday
> def. No. 5 Kailua 53-36, Friday
> lost to No. 4 Maryknoll 49-47, Saturday
8. Maui Prep (17-0, 7-0 MIL D-II) 34 NR
> def. Kapaa 75-50, Thursday
> def. No. 10 Kohala 65-46, Friday
> def. Kaimuki 65-35, Saturday
9. Kamehameha (9-8, 5-7 ILH) 30 7
10. Punahou (11-7, 7-5 ILH) 23 8
No longer in Top 10: Kohala (No. 10)
Also receiving votes: Kaimuki 3, Kohala 3, Roosevelt 2, Hilo 1, Kapaa 1, KS-Maui 1.
Congrats to the Crusaders! Who woulda thought that St. Louis would be state champs for basketball but not for football?
Maui Prep should be way up there. Their a very good team with brains and height.
Let’s be Honest. This year’s Crusader Basketball Team did not have many exceptionally talented players, they lack the classic true “Big Man” Center, but they played together and they planned smart, thanks to their coaches, especially Dan Hale, who is the tallest on the Team. Kudo’s to Coach Hale and all of his assistant, and to Athletic Director Chad Konishi for putting the whole thing together. Honest!
Yup, the TV broadcasters brought it up that a lot of other teams are frustrated about St. Louis winning the basketball championship. That’s because so many other coaches have their kids focus on basketball the whole year round. Meanwhile, the best St. Louis boys came over from football and baseball and smashed everybody.
Just goes to show that focusing only on one sport doesn’t always pay off.
Coach Dan Hale and AD Chad Konishi- I guess it takes two Punahou guys to get the Crusaders a hoops title LOL