Big second half lifts Santa Margarita past Iolani, 53-43

Iolani's Robert Mann goes up to defend a shot attempt by Santa Margarita's Blake Oosdyke. Sylvia Lee | SL

MANOA – A trip to the locker room was all that was needed for the visiting team to get back on track.

Santa Margarita (Calif.) exploded for 28 second half points against ‘Iolani to help themselves advance into the championship game of the 8th annual Saint Francis/Merv Lopes Hoops Classic. The Raiders led by four at halftime but could only muster 14 points in the second half.

“The team we played tonight is a well coached team,” said Santa Margarita coach Jeff Reinert after the game. “They did a great job. They drove (on) us a lot (and) we had trouble staying in front of them. We finally in the fourth quarter figure it out and we finally made some shots.”

The Eagles were led by University of New Mexico commit Joe Furstinger who notched a double double of 18 points and ten rebounds. Furstinger also added three assists and four blocks.

“Joe is really developing as a player,” Reinert said on Furstinger. “I think he would have forced some shots in the past, but no he trusts his teammates to make some shots. He moves the ball around and that was good for us. Inside, outside, he’s a tough threat.”

Ball movement was a reoccurring team for the visiting Eagles, working patiently to generate a good shot attempt. The formula worked to success with Santa Margarita assisting on 15 of their 17 made field goals.

“I was really pleased how they executed down the end and made some shots,” said Reinert.

Santa Margarita also had good minutes off the bench from Ray Shou, who is coming off a knee surgery. Shou provided great hustle and knocked down key shots while also limiting Iolani’s Zach Buscher to just six points, tied for his lowest in the preseason.

“Ray was a starter for us but he had surgery on his knee, so this is the first time he’s played in a month or six weeks,” Reinert said on Shou. “We were gradually trying to work him in, but we needed him in this game to make some shots. I was thrilled and we was lucky he could make a couple after not playing for six weeks.”

Iolani’s 29-25 halftime lead quickly evaporated after a Colin Ferrier trey and a Blake Oosdyke scoop shot. Bucher scored four of the next five Raiders’ points to retake the lead, but Shou knocked down back-to-back triples to give the Eagles a 36-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Shou’s 3-pointers were a huge momentum shifter for the Eagles, jumpstarting a 14-0 run that spanned the third and fourth quarter. The Raiders would not be able to generate a basket until there was only 2:18 left in regulation. That scoring surge was too much for ‘Iolani to overcome and they fell by double digits.

Santa Margarita moves on to play the Kamehameha-Kapalama Warriors in the championship round which be played on Dec. 30 after the third place game. The matchup will be streamed online on scoringlive.com.

“It’s really big for us. I’m just happy we got to the championship,” Furstinger said after the game.

Ikaika Phillip led the Raiders in the loss, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].