By Paul Honda

An instant classic for the ‘Iolani Classic, indeed.

Lamont “Momo” Jones poured in 40 points, including eight in the final period, as Oak Hill (Va.) rallied for an amazing 74-62 double-overtime win over Montrose Christian (Md.) last night in the final of the ‘Iolani Classic before a sellout crowd. It is the Warriors’ fifth ‘Iolani Classic crown.

After scoring 29 points in just over a half of play, Jones was completely shut down for a 14-minute stretch with Montrose Christian freshman Justin Anderson hounding him every inch of the floor. That allowed Oak Hill to rally from an eight-point deficit in the final quarter. Mouphtaou Yarou’s follow shot with 1:22 left tied it at 49 to go in regulation.

Coach Stu Vetter’s squad seemed on the verge of giving him his first Classic title as Montrose coach in seven tries. A foul shot by Yarou gave the Mustangs a 56-53 lead with 7 seconds left in the first overtime. Yarou’s second free-throw try missed, however, and Oak Hill quickly got the ball to Jones.

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[Photo: Coach-Photos.com]

Photos by Al Linsky – www.coach-photos.com

Final Standings:
1st Place – Oak Hill Academy (VA)
2nd Place – Montrose Christian (MD)
3rd Place – Fairfax (CA)
4th Place – LeFlore (AL)
5th Place – DeMatha (MD)
6th Place – Whitney Young (IL)
7th Place – Putnam City (OK)
8th Place – Iolani (HI)
Consolation Champion – Kamehameha Warriors (HI)

Most Outstanding Player (MOP): Cousins, Demarcus (LeFlore)
Most Valuable Player (MVP): Jones, Lamont ”Mo Mo” (Oakhill)
One Team Award (Sportsmanship): Dematha Stags (MD)

All Tournament Team:

• Hill, Solomon (Faifax)
• Armwood, Isaiah (Montrose
• Hibbert, Naji (DeMatha)
• Warner, Pablo (Iolani)
• Lamb, Doron (Oakhill)
• Ross, Terrence (Montrose)
• Ford, Marlon (LeFlore)
• Selby, Josh (DeMatha)
• Minns, Pi’i (Kamehameha)
• Starks, Ahmad (Whitney Young)
• Colvin, Chris (Whitney Young)
• Sidney, Renardo (Fairfax)
• Yarou, Mouphtaou (Montrose)
• Howard, Pe’Shon (Oakhill)
• Gallon, Keith “Tiny” (Oakhill)

By Wes Nakama, Advertiser Staff Writer

In a high-intensity matchup featuring two of the nation’s premier basketball programs, Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) held off LeFlore (Mobile, Ala.), 68-66, last night in the semifinals of the 25th Annual ‘Iolani Prep Classic.
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Oak Hill, No. 5 in USA Today’s latest Super 25 national rankings, will play No. 7 Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) in tomorrow’s 8 p.m. championship game.

No. 13 LeFlore will face No. 9 Fairfax (Los Angeles) for third place at 6:30.

There are no games scheduled for today.

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[Photo: Coach-Photos.com]

Photos by Al Linsky – www.coach-photos.com

Slam Dunk Competition – Results
1. Samuel Thompson – Whitney Young – the 2008 Slam Dunk Champion
2. Victor Oladipo – Dematha
3. Isaiah Armwood – Montrose
4. Terrence Ross – Montrose

By Billy Hull

There’s nothing small about Tiny Gallon’s game.

The 6-foot-9 senior from Oak Hill had eight points and nine rebounds in the third quarter alone as the Warriors opened up a close game against host ‘Iolani in the second half, beating the Raiders 80-44 in the quarterfinals of the ‘Iolani Classic yesterday.

Junior Doron Lamb led all scorers with 23 points and Gallon, an Oklahoma commit, finished with 13 points and 12 boards to lead Oak Hill, ranked fourth in the ESPN Fab 50.

“We switched from our press to man in the second half and that proved to be a much better matchup for us,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said. “(‘Iolani) played very well considering they were at such a size disadvantage.”

The Warriors had eight guys taller than ‘Iolani’s biggest player, but the Raiders weren’t phased early on.

Pablo Warner, who led ‘Iolani with 18 points, hit four 3-pointers in the first half. The lead changed hands four times in the second quarter, with the Raiders taking a 25-22 lead on a shot by Trevyn Tulonghari.

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[Photo: Coach-Photos.com]

Photos by Al Linsky - www.coach-photos.com

UPDATE: Slam Dunk Competition postponed to Saturday, December 20 (after the final game).