Houston boys fall short of title; senior named MAC’s top player

HOUSTON — Before leaving the 4A class, the Houston Hawks wanted to leave their mark on the Mid-Alaska Conference. After suffering a tough loss on the first day of the MAC Championships, the Hawks battled back through the true double-elimination tournament and were within reach of winning it all.

But the Hawks were just shy.

Lathrop used a big second half to score a 55-36 win Saturday over the Hawks at West Valley High School in Fairbanks.

“We fell a little bit short of what we wanted, but I’m very proud. They could have easily folded and given up,” Houston head coach Dave Porter said.

In the tourney opener, third-seeded Houston built an 18-point lead against second-seeded West Valley, but the tournament hosts used a 25-point fourth quarter to slip past Houston 53-50. Porter said the Wolfpack used physical play along the perimeter to frustrate the Hawks and capitalize late.

Despite the loss, the Hawks took advantage of the true-elimination format and played their way back into the title game against Lathrop with consecutive wins over North Pole and West Valley.

“The kids came out, played great together and won,” Porter said.

After the tourney, Houston senior Scott Kramer was named the boys’ player of the year in the MAC Conference.

“It was definitely a great way for him to finish his high school career,” Porter said of Kramer, who averaged 17 points per game as a senior.

Porter said Kramer was a unanimous player of the year.

“There was no conversation, no argument,” Porter said. “(All the coaches) felt the same way.”

Senior Phillip Pease was also named all-conference.

Houston senior Savanna James earned first-team all-conference honors on the girls’ side. The Houston girls finished 0-2 in the tourney.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.