Saint Francis speeds past University Lab, 64-32

Saint Francis junior Kealani Neves gets by two University Lab defenders in transition in the second half. Greg Yamamoto | SL

MANOA — Saint Francis' depth and defense wore down visiting University Lab in a 64-32 Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II win Saturday afternoon.

All 11 Saint Francis players that checked into the game recorded a rebound and the Saints forced 23 turnovers as the home team improved to 11-0 overall and 3-0 in league play.

Junior guard Kealani Neves knocked down three triples and scored a season-high 23 points on 50 percent shooting to lead Saint Francis offensively.

Nani Santos added 12 points with five boards, Kaimi Kalei had 11 points and three steals and Misiona Ribeiro chipped eight points off the bench to round out the Saints' top scorers.

Saint Francis also outrebound University Lab, 42 to 32.

Tyra Goo Sun scored nine points to lead the Jr. Bows (4-5, 0-2) in the loss.

The two teams were tied at 5 after University Lab's Ti Posiulai completed a three-point play at the 6:01 mark of the first quarter before the Saints started to make a run.

Saint Francis started to bring in its reserves at the 5:35 mark of the period, which led to a 10-0 run to close out the first quarter.

"In the beginning of the game we were slow, but once that first timeout was called, everyone kind of got together, picked each other up and we decided to push," said Neves.

Even though the Jr. Bows were able to break the run in the second quarter, Saint Francis never slowed down as it outscored University Lab in every period.

"I feel like once we get on a roll, then we can make those runs," said Saint Francis coach Chris Hoe. "Once we start getting it going, our players start picking it up and get more confidence."

University Lab coach Kenny Kitamura said that Saint Francis' depth wore his team down.

"What they do great this year compared to years past is they have several waves that they can keep coming and coming, so it doesn't stop," said Kitamura. "What we lack is that stamina and that depth, so we cannot matchup with our second string as the game progresses."

Defensively the Saints did a good job limiting University Lab as the Jr. Bows shot 10-for-36 from the field (27.8 percent). Saint Francis also held the visiting team without a made field goal during an eight minute, 58 second span in the first half and finished the afternoon with nine steals and six blocks.

"They're pretty tough," Kitamura said on the Saints' defense. "They're very aggressive and they user their hands and their feet very well. They're going to be a tough team for everybody in the division this year."

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].