Mount Vernon's Devonte Banner is challenged on a shot attempt by Kaiser's Marcus Mafi. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mount Vernon's Judah Alexander goes up for rebound over Kaiser's Tarius Hill. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kaiser's Makena Kaneaiakala puts up a shot over Mount Vernon's Brandon Martin. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mount Vernon's Yhanni Bartley puts up a shot between Kaiser's Tarius Hill and Makena Kaneaiakala. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Tue, Dec 17, 2013 @ Iolani

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Mt. Vernon

75

Kaiser

37

Final	1	2	3	4
Mt. Vernon	22	18	18	17	75
Kaiser (5-6, 16-12)	3	8	9	17	37

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

M. Mafi 8 pts  4/4 FTs

D. Banner 19 pts  1 3pm  0/2 FTs

M. Haili 4 tot

Y. Bartley 5 tot

K. Lewis II 2 ast

J. Alexander 2 ast

With tempartures in the 20s back home in Mount Vernon, it was only fitting that the Knights' basketball team would keep things 'inside' on the basketball court despite the much balmier weather in Honolulu.

Led by seniors Devonte Banner and Brandon Martin, Mount Vernon shot a sparkling 68 percent from two-point range en route to a 75-37 win over Kaiser in the opening round game of the 30th Iolani Prep Classic.

"Hawaii is gorgeous its beautiful. I like the weather here, its perfect. Back in New York, they got ten inches of snow. I'm glad to be out here, I'm glad." said Martin.

Perhaps drawing inspiration from the postcard-like weather, his teammate Banner, a six-foot-two guard, was a perfect eight-of-eight on his attempts inside of the arc, while Martin did his damage in the painted area to near perfection as well, hitting 5-of-7 shots, while collecting 2 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Mount Vernon took control early, building an 8-2 advantage in the early going, and found the sledding even easier after Kaiser's six-foot-five post Chance Kalugher picked up his third foul at the 4:30 mark in the first, extending to a 15-3 lead following a putback plus one by Judah Alexander.

"It was a tough team to play, we was just attacking the boards, attacking more than anything," remarked Martin. "We really didn't shoot much (from the outside), but it was because of the zone. We attacked the zone, got the buckets we needed, and built an early lead."

The Knights were extremely methodical, and just as efficient, consistently finding ways to hit open shooters for close range jumpers, or exploiting the Cougars' zone for shots in the painted area.

That clicking offense was coupled with a suffocating half court press by the Knights gave that the Cougars' guards problems early, particularly during a stretch of three consecutive steals near the midcourt line ran back the other way for easy layups, forcing another Kaiser timeout at the 2:17 mark with Mount Vernon holding a 34-7 lead at that point.

Kaiser hit on just 3-of-15 shots in two quarters of play, while Vernon hit on 16-of-25 attempts.

The Knights led by a 40-11 count at intermission.

Banner, Martin and the Knights' starting five played the majority of minutes in the first half, but mostly sat after logging limited minutes just after intermission.

Despite being down big on the scoreboard, the Cougars showed great energy and physicality throughout, exemplified by a loose ball tapped into the backcourt by Kalaugher that turned into a breakaway score that looked poised to be the first dunk of the tournament.

"We both went up for it, and I just tipped it over," said Kalaugher. "I was going to dunk it, but I thought I was going to have to go up against that guy (the Mount Vernon player defending me), so I just layed it up.:"

The fourth quarter was also a bright spot for the Cougars, who outscored the Knights by a 10-1 margin over the first 3 minutes of the period. Melvin Kahunanui Jr. muscled his way inside for a bucket plus the foul shot and Kelsey Lewis II hit back-to-back shots during that stretch, and seemed to provide a welcome boost of confidence.

"To start that quarter was all about energy, and its good from a confidence standpoint for guys to know that they can compete with some of the best players in the country," said Kaiser head coach Branden Kawazoe. "But to beat team like that you gotta play 32 minutes of perfect basketball. The bottom line is that we got better, and it was great to see us played good in spurts. And for coach in his first year, the potential is there."

Foul trouble for Kalaugher throughout the game was a sliver lining of sorts, as it ultimately forced extended minutes for the rest of its bigs.

Sophomore center Marcus Mafi led the way with 8 points, 3 rebounds and a block. He was also a sparkling 4-of-4 from the free throw line, and showed great touch and form from the line in the process. Matt Haili, a 6-foot-4 senior, added 2 points and a team-high four rebounds.

"Playing with the ILH teams and teams from the mainland is really going to help us to play (better) against the OIA teams we'll face in the regular season." said Kalaugher.

Vernon rebounded in the back half of the fourth to even the scoring at 17-all in the fourth, getting six points from reserves Kaison McDonald and four from Jamie Wiltshire.

Kaiser shot just 32 percent for the game, hitting 13-of-40 shots, but fared well in the 'hustle' categories, notching 23 rebounds, 7 steals and six blocks. The Knights, who hit at a 64 percent clip (29-of-45), forced 19 steals and four blocks to go along with 30 boards.

"For a lot of these kids, this is the best competition they've ever seen. We just wanted to get better today. So whether its taking care of the basketball or being able to box out solid. We're really focusing on the little things and we prepare for league play."

Up next for Mount Vernon is White Station (Tenn.), a 61-46 winner over Fuxin New Star (China) in the 3:30 p.m. quarterfinal on Wednesday. Kaiser will take on New Star in the consolation bracket at 9:30 a.m.