Hawks soar to state

SEWARD - In a lot of ways, the Houston boys basketball team is just like every other team in District 3A/3A play this year. They havent figured out how to beat Grace. But the Hawks did separate themselves from the rest of the region by earning a berth in the state tournament.

Houston, along with Grace, is going to state, while the rest of the region stays home. Thats because the Hawks won a 59-53 semifinal game against Seward, on Sewards court Friday night, launching the Hawks into the championship game, but more importantly earning a berth in the state tourney.

Grace used a fourth-quarter surge to beat the Hawks 67-55 in the championship game, and the Grizzlies finished the regional season with a perfect record.

It was disappointing that they beat us, but it was great being here in the first place, said Houstons Jeff Huston, who was named to the all-district team Im happy to get back to state. I havent been there since my sophomore year.

Although the Hawks did not come away with a championship Saturday, they did come away with something that will be just as valuable at state confidence.

If we had to lose to anybody, I definitely wanted it to be Grace, said Billy Cannon, Houstons other representative on the all-district squad. We showed we could play with them, and thats going to help if we play them again.

The Grizzlies are a bit like children in a crowded shopping mall. Forget about them for a second, and youve lost them for good.

Hawks coach Curt Youngberg said the game plan was to make the Grizzlies connect from outside on offense. Houston had a four-point lead after the first quarter, but trailed by three at the half. They trailed by four heading into the fourth, but Grace went on a patented run early, and Houston could not recover from the double-digit deficit.

Our game plan worked for a while, Youngberg said. We just had a few two- to three-minute stretches where they got away from us.

The Grizzlies thought it would be a tough game.

We knew it would be close because they are a tough team, said Graces Landon Libby, the districts MVP.

Huston paced the Hawks attack with 19 points, while Jameson Fields chipped in 12. Fields connected for 18 points in Fridays contest against Seward, while Huston scored 15 and Cannon 11.

Houston faces Barrow in the first round of the state tournament. The Hawks try to hook the Whalers at 1:30 p.m. at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. If the Hawks win, they play at 4 p.m. Friday. If they lose, they play at 8:45 a.m.

We lost two straight my sophomore year, and that wont happen again this year, Huston said. Weve got a much better team this year.

Grizzlies 67, Hawks 55

HOUSTON (55) Ulrich 3 0-1 8, Nagel 0 0-0 0, Huston 5 4-6 19, Saunders 0 0-0 0, Clemens 0 1-2 1, Fields 2 8-10 12, Webb 1 0-0 2, Cannon 4 1-2 9, Shurtleff 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 14-21 55.

GRACE (67) Wickler 0 0-0 0, Meier 5 0-0 10, Gates 1 1-2 3, Tulip 2 0-2 5, Biederman 2 0-0 5, J. Libby 0 0-0 0, Leman 1 0-0 3, L. Libby 7 5-8 20, Smith 7 0-0 14, Lewis 3 1-3 7. Totals 28 7-15 67.

Total fouls Houston 17, Grace 19. Fouled out Smith. Three point-goals Ulrich 2, Huston 2, Tulip, Biederman, Leman, L. Libby.