Hawks prepare for region run

HOUSTON — With the Region III playoffs just around the corner, small school basketball teams are preparing to make runs for the state finals. The Houston Hawks boys only have three games to go and coach Curt Youngburg wants to make the most of a mediocre season.

"Hopefully we can turn the tide," he said before Friday night's game against Seward.

The Hawks are close to getting over the hump, Youngburg said. But they are coming off close losses to Anchorage Christian School (ACS) and Cordova last week, and have lost four out of the last six games heading into the final two weeks of the season. The Houston boys defeated Nikiski 67-61 while the girls lost 43-25 to the Bulldogs.

Houston has experienced many close-but-no-cigar games this year, but Youngburg feels as if his team is on the brink of making a respectable showing at the upcoming Region III tournament, which will be hosted by Houston High School on March 15-17.

"Our perimeter players are kind of going through some growing pains," Youngburg said. "We're kind of in a four-way battle for second place. I've got a lot of experience with [my] big kids."

Grace Christian sits on top of the Region III standings and has a pretty good lock on the number-one seed, leaving Nikiski, Seward, Heritage and ACS to jockey for the next four spots.

Jameson Fields, a junior, and senior Billy Cannon lead the Hawks in the paint and consistently score in double-digits, but gaps left by the departure of Jeff Huston and Shawn Ulrich last season surfaced Friday when Houston only converted 25 of 68 attempts against Seward.

Lack of offense from Houston's perimeter game indicated Youngburg is still in the rebuilding mode in terms of ball-handling leadership.

"I think Houston took us a little too easy," Seward coach Chris Draper said. "Momentum-wise, [my] kids started pulling things together. [Houston] didn't hit from the perimeter shots tonight. We had a monster first quarter."

Jake Elhard and Luke Davis combined for 38 points to lead Seward in scoring. Draper stepped in to take over the head coaching duties after Seahawks coach Rick Shaw committed suicide early in the season.

Houston had to fight the turnover bug in Friday night's contest as the Hawks fell behind early to the Seahawks 26-11. The Hawks switched gears in the second frame and battled back to within 38-37 on a gritty inside game by Cannon and Fields, who combined for 24 points.

Peter Clemens, who scored 17 points in the game, rang the bell at the half-time buzzer on an inbounds steal and an easy layup to turn the tide and complete an 9-2 stretch for the Hawks. Travis Webb added five points for the Hawks while contributing six steals on defense.

David Smith opened the third quarter with five quick points, but the Seahawks answered back an 18-2 run, capitalizing on Houston's missed opportunities from the perimeter. The Hawks found themselves down 56-44 going into the final eight minutes of play.

Houston climbed back to within 62-60 with one minute, 39 seconds to go, but everytime they put up a shot, Seahawk defenders grabbed the Hawks' missed shots and ran the ball the other way.

Five Houston players missed seven field goal attempts down the stretch at a time when the their defense was providing them with many chances to score. The Seahawks walked out with a 67-62 win.

Seward girls 50, Houston 34

The Seward girls stormed out to a 19-4 lead over the Hawks and never looked back. After allowing 22 points right off the bat, the Hawks settled down to play three solid quarters of basketball, but could not overcome a 13-point deficit incurred in the first frame. Kerrie Aldeman tossed in 14 points and Linnea Pudwill contributed 11 points for the Hawks.

"They're a good club," coach Norm Bouchard said. "You can't let them get confident. You give them some points and they're going to hurt you."

SEWARD GIRLS (50) — Boulden, 0 0-0 0; Gillespie 0 0-0 0; Banie 1 0-2 2; Bardarson 1 0-0 2; Schangaard 0 0-0 0; Ganser 5 0-1 10; Carr 8 0-0 19; Regis 1 0-0 2; Banse 2 0-0 4; Fisher 2 1-2 6; Hetrick 0 0-0 0; DeRuwe 1 0-0 2; Linville 0 1-2 1; Seigel 0 0-0 0; Dieckgraeff 1 0-0 2. Totals — 22 2-7 50.

HOUSTON GIRLS (34) — Lapham 0 2-8 2; Aldeman 5 0-6 14; Loeffler 1 1-2 3; Nocoll 1 0-2 2; Adams 0 0-0 0; Conn 0 2-2 2; Pudwill 4 3-4 11; Jurica 0 0-0 0; Vial 0 0-1 0. Totals — 11 8-25 34.

Total fouls — Seward 17, Houston 15. Fouled out — None. Three-point goals — Carr 3, Fisher, Aldeman 4. Turnovers — Seward 23, Houston 32. Steals — Seward 14, Houston 8.

Seward 22 11 11 6 — 50

Houston 9 6 6 13 — 34

SEWARD BOYS (67) — Clemens 0 0-0 0; Swiderski 1 1-2 3; Elhord 5 5-11 18; Boulden 1 1-4 3; Loomis 3 2-2 8; Davis 9 2-6 20; Jones 4 5-7 13; Miller 1 0-0 2. Totals — 24 16-32 67.

HOUSTON (62) — Smith 2 1-1 5; J. Webb 2 0-0 4; Haragan 1 0-1 2; Kirtland 0 0-0 0; Clemens 7 2-2 17; Christensen 0 0-0 0; Fields 7 0-1 14; T. Webb 2 0-0 5; Cannon 2 6-9 10; Shurtleff 2 1-2 5. Totals — 25 10-16 62.

Total fouls — Seward 18, Houston 25. Fouled out — None. Three-point goals — Elhord 3, Clemens, T. Webb. Turnovers — Seward 24, Houston 19. Steals — Seward 5, Houston 14.

Seward 26 12 18 11 — 67

Houston 11 26 7 18 — 62