Houston boys aim to shoot down top seed

HOUSTON — The Houston Hawks are the fourth seed of the Mid-Alaska Conference Championships boys basketball tournament. But there’s something about the Hawks that makes this fourth seed dangerous.

The Hawks can fire up the long ball. And if Houston gets hot, Hawks head coach Dave Porter thinks his team has the ability to stun anyone — even a top seed.

“We hit eight, nine, 10 threes and play good defensively, the kids get excited. Then it’s a snowball effect. We do have that potential,” Porter said of his squad which hosts top-seeded North Pole in the first round of the MAC Championships tonight at 7:15 p.m. at Houston High School. “We have that potential to surprise.”

Houston has a loaded long-range arsenal that features a variety of shooters. Senior Zack Qual leads that class. Qual has put together a collection of 20 and 30-point efforts this season, including a 35-point performance during a loss to West Valley last week.

“He sparks us,” Porter said.

Porter said Qual did suffer through a bit of a slump late in the season, but his 35-point night has him back on track.

Senior Mitch Montreuil and sophomore Scott Kramer are among other Houston shooters who can burn opponents with the three-point shot.

The Hawks have played their first-round opponent, North Pole, twice this season. The Pats needed a pair of late free throws to edge Houston 52-50 in the Interior in January, but scored a 61-35 win over the Hawks last week at Houston High.

“That was really our only loss that was a butt-kicking,” Porter said. “They’re playing great basketball.”

Porter said Houston’s strategy was to shut down Jesse Ward, arguably North Pole’s top player, in both games. Houston held Ward to just five points in each contest, but Porter said other Patriots came up big against Houston.

“The rest of the team antied in,” Porter said. “We can’t just focus on him.”

Porter said North Pole also has a considerable size advantage, which will have to be dealt with. Although the Hawks will have their hands full inside, Porter said the post play of his team has also improved tremendously.

“Early on, we couldn’t get our post players to get involved,” Porter said. “But they’re a lot more active now.”

The Hawks face North Pole in the final of two first-round games. Lathrop meets West Valley at 3:45 p.m. today. The winner of each contest moves into the championship game, scheduled for Saturday at 2:45 p.m. The loser plays in the third-place game at 10:30 a.m.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.