Iolani's Hugh Hogland poured in 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked four shots and dished out three assists in the Raiders' win over Saint Louis to lock up one of the ILH's two berths in the upcoming Division I state tournament. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mon, Feb 8, 2016 @ Iolani

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Saint Louis

40

Iolani

47

Final	1	2	3	4
Saint Louis (7-6, 21-8)	9	9	10	12	40
Iolani (9-5, 19-9)	13	10	12	12	47

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

H. Hogland 17 pts  1/2 FTs

T. Nichols 8 pts  0/0 FTs

H. Hogland 9 tot  1 off  8 def

T. Nichols 7 tot  2 off  5 def

H. Hogland 3 ast

I. Slade-Matautia 3 ast

Iolani will once again be in the state tournament.

Thanks to a dominating performance by 6-foot-9 center Hugh Hogland, the second-ranked Raiders defeated visiting Saint Louis, 47-40, to capture the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Division I first round title.

Iolani, one of four teams to finish the first round tied for first with identical 6-4 records, won their second game in three days to finish atop the four-team playoff. It locked up a third consecutive trip to the 12-team state tournament with its season-best fifth straight win.

"It's a huge relief," said Hogland, who finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 17 points and nine boards. "We didn't want, as a team, to go to the ILH tournament still searching for that bid. We got it and now we can play free. We don't have to play with any worry, we can just play our own game."

The Raiders (8-4) never trailed against the third-ranked Crusaders (7-5), who have now lost four of their last five games.

Hogland was an efficient 8-of-9 shooting from the field. He was just as imposing on the defensive end, recording four blocks and altering numerous other shots. Hogland even had a team-high three assists.

"He's just been getting better with every game, staying active, working through some of the frustrations and just staying focused all the way to the end," Raiders coach Dean Shimamoto said. "If he's like that he's a force on offense, he's a force on defense, he gives us relief against pressure by stepping out and receiving the ball, so when he's like that we're very, very good."

Iolani shot 43.5 percent (17 of 39) from the field and 11 of 16 on free throws.

Robby Mann knocked down the Raiders' only two 3-pointers of the game and scored nine of his 14 points after halftime. He also had six rebounds.

Saint Louis had a rough shooting night, going just 16 of 49 (32.6 percent) from the field, including just 1 of 12 from behind the arc.

"Turnovers and we missed some easy layups killed us," Crusaders coach Allan Silva said. "It would have been different if we made some easy layups, but Iolani is a tough team and we'll play them again, I'm sure"

Saint Louis big man Tristan Nichols, who entered the game averaging a team-high 15.6 points per game, was held to just eight points in the loss. He was limited to just seven attempts from the field and was forced to watch most of the second half from the bench after picking up his third and fourth fouls in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

"He's our big guy and a big part of our offense — rebounding, shooting, powering the ball — and that hurts when he sits on the bench," Silva said.

Hogland said things worked to his team's advantage when the 6-foot-6, 260-pound Nichols was relegated to the bench.

"When Tristan goes down with his fourth foul we felt like our guards had more driving lanes open because Tristan is such a huge force and it was just the same game plan the whole game," Hogland said.

Iolani held a 23-18 lead at halftime.

The closest Saint Louis got the rest of the way was early in the second half when Nichols drained a 17-foot jumper to make it 27-24, Iolani.

The Raiders stretched it to a 37-28 lead about two minutes into the fourth quarter following a layup by Mann off a backdoor cut and assist from Hogland.

Isaac Slade-Matautia had eight points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Crusaders, who have lost two of three against Iolani this season.

Saint Louis beat Iolani — which was without Hogland (volleyball trip) — 52-50 back on Jan. 9.

Iolani exacted revenge with a 59-31 win on Jan. 30 — the start of its current five-game win streak.

"After we lost to Punahou and then we came out in our second game against Saint Louis we had a lot of hunger," Hogland said. "We didn't want to lose any more. We had our backs up against the wall in desperation and I think tonight was the almost the last piece of the puzzle. We're still searching for that last piece, but we're almost there."

Both teams have a bye Tuesday, the first round of the single-elimination tournament, before hosting second-round games Wednesday.

Saint Louis, which has not appeared in the state tournament since 2007, will play the Punahou-Maryknoll winner, while Iolani will face the Kamehameha—Mid-Pacific winner.

The Raiders won their last of 10 state championships in 2014. They have reached the last two state finals, losing to Kalaheo last year, 53-45.