St. Francis edges St. Louis; earns spot in Lopes semis


St. Francis' Drew Wilson followed up a big block with a bigger defensive rebound in the last 18 seconds to seal a thrilling 55-54 victory over St. Louis in the second round of the St. Francis-Merv Lopes Hoops Classic.

Wilson dropped two critical free throws to give St. Francis an all-important four point cushion, as Kamalei Correa hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for St. Louis.

Austin Ursua led St. Francis with 17 points, includng 3 from three-point range.

Correa led all scorers with 21.

The win marked the first victory for the St. Francis boys varsity team over St. Louis.

St. Francis will play Science Hill of Tennessee tomorrow in the 7 p.m. semifinal.

In other action from the second day of the tournament:

> Dyrbe Enos and Taylor Taliulu combined for 31 points as Kamehameha edged Leilehua, 63-59, in the first game of the day.

> Chestermere (Can.) topped Kailua, 57-52. Jasdeep Gill poured in 25 points, and Riley Lenci hit four three-pointers in the win.

> Farrington had three players score in double figures, as the Govs took care of Damien, 72-58. Viane Vaina had a game-high 18 points.

> The Warriors of Kamehameha-Hawaii moved into the semis with a 50-42 win over Kahuku. Shaun Kagawa and Lanaki Apele chipped in 15 and 13 points respectively.

> Mission Prep (Calif.) cruised past Brentwood (BC), 51-34. Mission Prep led 28-14 at halftime and 45-18 after three quarters.

> Science Hill (Tenn.) had five players score in double-figures in a 76-31 blowout over Kamehameha II. The Hilltoppers hit 10 threes in the game.

> Kalaheo's Josh Ko dropped 20 points in a 44-43 loss to Amador Valley (Calif.). The Dons outscored the Mustangs 26-17 in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory.