Saint Louis played the nation's No. 10-ranked boys basketball team close for one half last night before Rice (New York) pulled away for a 61-40 victory on the opening night of the 24th Annual 'Iolani Prep Classic.

Rice, ranked No. 10 in USA Today's Super 25 released Monday, will face 'Iolani at 5 p.m. tomorrow. Saint Louis will face Ji Lin (China) at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Rice (3-0) is coming off a 27-4 season in which it won the New York Catholic School State Championship.

Saint Louis was playing its first game after only two weeks of practice. Head coach Delbert Tengan also is the Crusaders' football coach, and he and many of the basketball players participated in the football state championship game on Nov. 30.

Still, Saint Louis came out strong and led 7-5 after one period. The Raiders took their first lead at 9-8 after University of Connecticut-bound point guard Kemba Walker's free throws 54 seconds into the second period.

They opened the lead to 19-13 two minutes later, but the Crusaders cut it to 19-16 on Cole Shidaki's free throw with 4:59 remaining in the half.

Chris Fouch's free throws put Rice up 22-16 with 2:02 left, and that's how it stood at halftime.

"We definitely struggled on offense in the first half, most of our scorers struggled," Rice coach Mo Hicks said. "But no excuses, (Saint Louis) played good defense and against a good team like that, you've got to bring your best. That's a good team, so give them credit."

Rice picked up the pace in the second half and quickly opened the lead to 28-18. Shidaki's free throw cut it to 28-19 with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter, but that was as close as the Crusaders would get. The Raiders closed out the period with a 9-2 run and then began the fourth quarter with an 18-4 spurt to make it 55-25 with 3:42 left.

"When you come into a tournament like this, the styles are different and it's like a boxing match — it takes time to learn how the other teams play," Hicks said. "In the second half, we decided to make some adjustments and we told our shooters to just relax and let the shots come to them. We just had to settle down, and our defense got us some easy baskets in the third quarter."

Dorvell Carter led Rice with 15 points, James Stukes added 13 and Durand Scott 11.

RICE 5 17 15 24 — 61

SAINT LOUIS 7 9 5 19 — 40

RICE — Dorvell Carter 15, Chris Fouch 8, Starheim Ripley 4, James Cook 0, Jonathan Williams 0, Jeff Harris 1, Kemba Walker 9, Durand Scott 11, Charles Fenner 0, Kadeem Jack 0, Yuri Santos 0, James Stukes 13. Totals 18 23-33 61.

SAINT LOUIS — Lucas Gonsalves 5, Kamakani Usui 0, Corey Lau 6, Dean Viena 2, Kyle Gonzaga 5, Cole Shidaki 7, Marcus Umu 0, Michael Tuiloma 7, Micah McClinton 4, Jamison Miller 4, Moses Samia 0. Totals 12 12-18 40.

3-point goals: Rice 2 (Carter 2). Saint Louis 4 (Gonsalves, Lau, Gonzaga, Miller).

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456. Read his blog on prep sports at blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com

MOUNT VERNON 96, ROOSEVELT 25

MOUNT VERNON 28 22 20 26 — 96

ROOSEVELT 5 7 6 7 — 25

MOUNT VERNON — Vaughn Allen 13, Jordan Lessane 4, Jabarie Hinds 6, Ketema Brooks 4, Sean Harris 10, Sherrod Wright 16, Kadeem Dinham 0, Odayne Clarke 7, Andre Gaynor 5, Naseer Robinson 4, Mark Cole 3, Brandon White 2, Kevin Jones 22. Totals 42 11-24 96.

ROOSEVELT — Lowen Furuta-Harada 0, Kainoa Gasper 0, Rylan Ikehara 0, Lowen Kahooilihala 0, Jason Nutter 1, TJ Armstead 2, Chaz Francisco 2, Matthew Kualii Moe 13, Reid Oshiro 0, Ethan Williams 4, Asten Koki 2, Kaipo Pale 1. Totals 9 6-14 25.

3-point goals: Mount Vernon 1 (Brooks). Roosevelt 1 (Moe).

MASON COUNTY 76, LEILEHUA 41

MASON COUNTY 26 21 19 10 — 76

LEILEHUA 8 11 3 19 — 41

MASON COUNTY — Mandela Rice 3, Westin Stahl 6, Ryan Hamm 0, Darius Miller 15, Ethan King 12, Trevor Setty 14, Russ Middleton 19, Jackson Tolle 0, Keith Downing 0, Phil Barner 7. Totals 30 6-12 76.

LEILEHUA — Dillion Pau'u 8, Hoku Kama 4, Kolwin Dixon 6, James Hill 0, Chase Acohido 0, Andrew Manley 1, Gary Rodeffer 0, Bronson Pausa 5, James Samuel 2, Art Laurel 15, Tavana Alailima 0, Nathan Hall 0. Totals 16 8-14 41.

3-point goals: Mason County 10 (Middleton 4, Stahl 2, Setty 2, Rice, Miller). Leilehua 1 (Pau'u).

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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