Hawks' boys fall

The Houston Hawks boys' basketball team played run-and-gun basketball against the Nikiski Bulldogs Friday at Houston High School.

The fast-paced Houston offense was able to push the ball up the court for points through three quarters of play, but tired in the fourth as Nikiski pulled away to take a 63-50 win.

"We played a first half full of emotion, but ran out of gas by the fourth quarter," said Houston coach Thad Schumacher. "Nikiski played a steady game and beat us."

The Hawks played a tight defense on Nikiski in the first half, swarming ballhandlers and rebounding well to contain the Bulldog offense.

Houston's offense pushed the ball quickly up the court, moving the ball around to find players cutting to the net while blending the perimeter shot.

Nikiski was able to gain an early 9-3 advantage early in the game, but Houston climbed back in with a pressuring defense that created turnovers. The Hawks were able to convert the turnovers to points. Three pointers by Travis Webb and Pete Clemens put the Hawks up with a 16-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

Houston continued the pace throughout the second quarter and kept the advantage with a 26-23 lead at halftime.

Both teams seemed to dispense with their defense in the third quarter, opting for a scoring dual that kept the ball moving at both ends of the court.

Nikiski started to gain control late in the third quarter, taking a 47-44 lead going into the final quarter.

Nikiski widened the lead in the fourth quarter by slowing its pace to a ball control offense. As fatigue set in on the Hawks, they began to make errors on offense that cost them scoring opportunities. Bad shots and passes put the Hawks in a hole and caused them to make turnovers late in the game as the clock began to work against them.

With Nikiski content to run out the clock with perimeter passes, Houston was forced to foul to stop the clock. The Bulldogs hit their free throws late to stay ahead and take the 63-50 win.

The game marked the return of Clemens to the starting line up. Clemens sustained a severe spiral fracture to his leg prior to the start of the season and was expected to miss the majority of Houston's games this year.

"The leg feels good now," he said. "Now it's just a matter of getting back in shape."

Clemens scored 13 points in the Hawks' effort with Jesse Webb also contributing 13. D.J. Sandidge played strong down the stretch, scoring 11 points in the game.

"I'm happy with the play of the kids," Schumacher said. "We outplayed them in most offensive categories, we just can't give the good teams too many opportunities like this."