Maryknoll's Justice Sueing drives the ball downcourt against Kaimuki. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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120414_MaryKaim_0037.jpg - Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Two of its newest additions led the Maryknoll boys' basketball team to a commanding 63-37 win over Kaimuki Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the Hawaii Self Storage Black & Gold Classic at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.

Justice Sueing, a sophomore guard and son of the former University of Hawaii standout of the same name, scored a game-high 19 points, and freshman center Brian Washington added nine points and three blocks to lead the Spartans (2-0).

"He's the real deal: 6-(foot)-5, left-handed and a high basketball IQ," Maryknoll coach Kelly Grant said of Sueing. "He's still doing a lot of thinking out there because he's learning a new system and sometimes you can see his mind going like, 'What am I supposed to do?,' but a month from now he's just going to be in rhythm."

Sueing, who moved from Arizona over the summer, made 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, including 6 of 6 in the fourth quarter. Washington, who also stands 6-5, scored all but two of his points after halftime.

"He's another real deal," Grant said of Washington. "We're really fortunate to have him. He has a very good attitude, he's adjusting to school and he's working hard, especially on his jump shot, because it wasn't very good, but him being left handed and me being left handed makes it real easy to teach him."

The Spartans will be counting on Washington to help fill the void left behind by 2013 All-Hawaii Player of the Year Joshua Burnett, who graduated in June, and fellow first-team pick Kaleb Gilmore, who transferred to Kalaheo in the offseason.

"The good thing about Brian is he's a left-handed shot blocker and those are the best in the world because they're matching up with the right-handed shooter most of the time," Grant said.

Maryknoll opened the game on an 8-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Hayato Kamata.

Kaimuki didn't score until nearly halfway through the first half and allowed the Spartans to close out the first quarter on a 9-0 run, which was part of a 17-0 stretch that extended into the second quarter.

Saige Pulu's layup gave Maryknoll a 31-8 lead, but Kaimuki scored the final seven points of the quarter and pulled within 31-15 at halftime.

Maryknoll outscored Kaimuki, 14 to 5, in the third quarter to stretch its lead to 45-20 to start the fourth. It led by as much as 29 following a free throw by Washington in the closing minutes.

"We're playing everybody right now and giving everyone opportunities to showcase what they can do, so we haven't had a chance to put together our rotation just yet, but for the most part I thought we played pretty well," said Grant, whose team posted a 13-4 record and a third-place finish in the Division I state tournament last season.

Sifo Lauvao and Christian Ono scored 12 points apiece to lead the Bulldogs (0-1), who finished 1-10 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division last year.  

Before taking over the Maryknoll program, Grant was the longtime head coach at Kaimuki, where he led the Bulldogs to two OIA championships and one state title in 2007.

The Black & Gold Classic continues Friday. Kaimuki takes on University High at 3:30 p.m. and Maryknoll will play host McKinley at 8 p.m.