Hawks split at Nikiski

The Nikiski and Houston basketball teams split a pair of Southcentral Conference games Friday in Nikiski.

The Bulldogs girls eventually broke free in a tight defensive battle for a 44-25 triumph that put them at 12-8 overall and

4-1 in the league.

The Hawks boys used a swarming defense and opportune offense for a 62-43 win that put them at 8-9 overall and 3-2 in the league.

The score of the girls game was 9-3 for Nikiski after the first quarter, 16-8 after two quarters and 19-13 after three quarters.

The points finally got flowing in the fourth when both teams spent a lot of time at the foul line. Houston committed 27 fouls in the game, while Nikiski had 23.

Nikiski coach Rustin Hitchcock said Houston’s physical play on defense definitely was a challenge for his squad.

“They’re big, super strong and the game plan is to get right in your face,” Hitchcock said. “Our offense got a little stagnant.”

Houston coach Mat Bredberg said his squad was not scoring for the simplest of reasons — the Hawks were not making shots.

“We didn’t put the round thing in the round thing,” Bredberg said. “That’s what you’ve gotta do. In the first half, we kept them under 20 points, we just didn’t make shots.”

In the fourth quarter, fouls caught up with the Hawks as Denali Whitted, Hanna Elson and Emily Bitler all fouled out. Tika Zimmerman fouled out for Nikiski, but nobody else had more than three fouls.

“Ultimately, it was our depth,” Hitchcock said. “We just had more people.”

Nikiski was 15 for 27 from the line in the final eight minutes, while Houston was 5 of 14.

America Jeffreys paced a balanced Nikiski attack with 12 points, while Denali Whitted led Houston with eight.

Hitchcock also gave credit to Kaycee Bostic for a rough and tumble game where she absorbed many fouls.

Houston boys 62, Nikiski 43

The Hawks grabbed a 17-7 lead after the first quarter and managed to shut down any run Nikiski make to make the game close after that.

Houston went with a man or zone press for the full court the whole game. Nikiski coach Reid Kornstad said his squad got the ball over the half-court stripe just fine, but then the pressure began to add up.

“They were pressing all over the floor and that led to some turnovers,” Kornstad said. “The pressure also led us to take some shots we otherwise wouldn’t take.”

An offensive attack led by the crafty Noah Litke, who paced the Bulldogs with 18 points, did spark several runs at the Hawks. Nikiski got the lead to single digits in the second quarter before Houston went on a run to lead 33-15 at the half.

Kornstad said his team was hurt by not getting defensive stops when they were important. Nikiski also had 17 fouls to Houston’s 10, even though Houston was the one pressing.

“They’ve got guys that can score,” Kornstad said of the Hawks, who have beaten the Bulldogs three times this year. “They’ve got shooters, they’ve got a big guy and they’re well-coached.

“They’ve improved a ton over the course of the year.”

Kyle McLaughlin, at 6-foot-6, had 15 points for the Hawks, while guards Hayden Howard and Cody Wyrick had 18 and 16 respectively.

Houston coach Ted Van Dussen said his team still has improving to do. The Hawks have had problems starting the second half all season. Friday, Nikiski cut the 33-15 halftime deficit to 42-28 by 2:34 left in the third quarter.

“We’re battling a lapse in intensity,” Van Dussen said. “We’ve got to get a little better at putting the pedal down when we have another team down.”

The coach also said his team suffers lulls on offense when the ball doesn’t get in to McLaughlin.

Michael Mysing added eight points for the Bulldogs. Kornstad gave him credit for a defensive game where his motor was constantly running.