Freshman sparks Wasilla boys in NLC title win

WASILLA — Since losing Isaac Houck to an injury during a nonconference win over West Valley late last month, the Wasilla Warriors have been working to fill the void left by their senior captain before Houck can return to the court.

Different players have stepped up on different days for the Warriors.

Saturday, the Warriors received a spark from another Houck.

Isaac’s younger brother, Levi.

The Wasilla freshman scored all eight of his points during a key stretch of the third quarter, and helped the Warriors rally to score a 61-49 victory over Kodiak in the Northern Lights Conference Championships boys’ title game at Kodiak High School.

“What a great way to step up and fill his brother’s role,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said of Levi Houck Saturday evening via cell phone from Kodiak.

Wasilla trailed host Kodiak by three at halftime, and the Bears extended the advantage to seven in the third.

And then Houck came through for the Warriors. The freshman hit three shots from the floor, including a pair of big three-pointers.

“He showed up and made great plays,” Engebretsen said.

Houck’s eight points in the third were part of a 23-2 Wasilla run that helped Wasilla earn its fifth NLC title in Engebretsen’s 10-year tenure as head coach, and the team’s first since 2012. Reilly Devine, Aeron Milliron and Daniel Headings also scored at least four points each during the third quarter.

“The kids just battled through,” Engebretsen said.

Defense and rebounding was also key for the Warriors during the final two periods, Engrebretsen said.

“Our team defense is fantastic at times,” Engebretsen said. “They made them work for everything. We finally were rebounding consistently.”

Engebretsen also praised his players for their ability to rally and get by the upset-minded Bears on their home floor, with the raucous Kodiak standing-room only crowd. Kodiak was also coming off consecutive wins, a victory over Soldotna and an upset of second-seeded Colony in the semifinals.

“Beating SoHi and Colony, they were playing with a lot of swagger. The gym was packed and they were feeding off the energy of their fans,” Engebretsen said.

Kodiak hit shots early, including a pair of three-pointers, and held a two-point lead after the first quarter.

“We didn’t hit the panic button, played it one position at a time,” Engebretsen said.

Devine and Headdings each scored a team-high 16 points in the win. Headdings led the team with 36 points in the tournament. The sophomore scored 20 of Wasilla’s 35, including the go-ahead basket, during the 35-34 win over Palmer in the semifinals.

“He had a huge tournament, kind of a breakout,” Engebretsen said. “This is his best weekend of his sophomore season. We played really, really well, handled the pressure, took good shots, guarded the other guy’s best player both nights. I am pretty proud of that kid.”

Wasilla now looks ahead to the state tournament, slated for March 23-25 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. Wasilla is the top-ranked team in the latest Winning Percentage Index, the formula ASAA uses to rank 4A basketball teams.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Wasilla boys 61, Kodiak 49

NLC title game

Saturday, Kodiak

Wasilla 14-7-23-17—61

Kodiak 16-8-9-16—49

Wasilla (61) — L. Houck 3 0-0 8, Brown 3 2-4, Headdings 5 3-4 16, Devine 6 4-6 16, Dudley 1 0-0 2, Milliron 5 1-7 11; Totals: 23 10-21 61.

Kodiak (49) — Rocheleau 3 2-5 10, Morzo 2 4-4 9, Cauging 6 0-0 16, Giron 2 2-4 6, Keller 3 2-2 8; Totals: 16 10-15 49.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 5 (Headdings 3), Kodiak 7 (Cuaging 4); Total fouls: Wasilla 20, Kodiak 18.