Houston boys finish 3rd in Southcentral Conference

WASILLA — The Houston Hawks had their hearts broken in the semifinals, but they didn’t fold.

After a loss to Anchorage Christian in the semis, Houston grabbed consecutive wins on the following days to cap its season with a third-place finish in the Southcentral Conference.

The Hawks notched third with a 53-49 win over Homer Saturday afternoon. In the past, that victory would have clinched a state tournament berth for the Hawks. But the conference lost its third automatic bid when ASAA added an at-large bid to its 3A state tournaments. The at-large bid is based on the Winning Percentage Index, the formula used to rank teams at the 3A and 4A levels. Houston finished 11th in the state in the final WPI ranking. Eight teams make the state tournament.

Seniors Kade Taylor and Ben Bitler concluded their stellar Houston basketball careers scoring 21 and 12 points, respectively, during the win over the Mariners. Silas Ross also scored a dozen.

Houston advanced to the third-place game with 65-45 victory over Seward Saturday morning. Taylor had 19 against the Seahawks Bitler collected 12.

Houston suffered a 55-41 loss to ACS in the semifinals.

Houston 53, Homer 49

Southcentral third-place game

Homer 22 10 8 9 — 49

Houston 17 10 14 12 — 53

Homer (49) — Etzwiler 2 0-0 6, Adkins 0 0-0 0, Ravin 1 0-1 2, Carroll 3 0-1 7, Edens 1 1-2 4, Ellison 5 2-6 13, Beachy 4 1-2 13, McGhee 2 0-0 4. Totals — 18 4-12 49.

Houston (53) — Werts 0 2-2 2, Ka. Taylor 6 4-6 21, Ko. Taylor 1 1-3 3, Ruta 1 0-0 3, Ritter 0 0-0 0, Ross 5 1-2 12, Pelesasa 0 0-0 0, Bitler 4 4-4 12. Totals — 17 12-17 53.

3-point goals — Homer 9 (Beachy 4, Etzwiler 2, Carroll, Edens, Ellison); Houston 7 (Ka. Taylor 5, Ruta, Ross). Team fouls — Homer 14, Houston 15. Fouled out — none.

Houston 65, Seward 45

Southcentral consolation

Seward 14 15 6 10 — 45

Houston 21 22 12 10 — 65

Seward (45) — Pahno 3 1-4 10, Kratz 3 0-0 8, S. Estes 0 2-2 2, C. Estes 0 2-2 2, Wilps 0 0-0 0, Spanos 0 0-0 0, Sieverts 2 2-2 7, Jarvis 0 0-0 0, Nilsson 0 0-0 0, Deboard 2 3-6 7, Petrosius 4 1-5 9. Totals — 14 11-21 45.

Houston (65) — Wyrick 1 0-0 2, L. Taylor 0 1-2 1, Knutson 0 0-0 0, Werts 1 0-0 3, Ka. Taylor 6 2-2 19, Ko. Taylor 2 4-6 8, Ruta 2 0-0 6, Ritter 0 0-0 0, Ross 3 2-2 8, Pelesasa 3 0-1 6, Bitler 5 0-0 12. Totals — 23 9-13 65.

3-point goals — Seward 6 (Pahno 3, Kratz 2, Sieverts); Houston 10 (Ka. Taylor 5, Ruta 2, Bitler 2, Werts). Team fouls — Seward 14, Houston 16. Fouled out — Ruta.

Nikiski 61, Houston 31

Southcentral consolation

Houston 8 11 8 4 — 31

Nikiski 15 16 17 13 — 61

Houston (31) — Holmes 1 1-4 3, Graham 1 0-0 2, Davis 0 5-6 5, Ruth 1 2-4 5, M. Moore 1 2-2 4, T. Moore 4 3-4 12, Winzenburg 0 0-1 0, Vanpelt 0 0-0 0, Whitted 0 0-0 0. Totals — 8 13-21 31.

Nikiski (61) — Jeffreys 0 0-0 0, Wik 5 2-3 17, Pitt 1 2-2 4, Vollertsen 4 0-0 9, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Kornstad 4 0-0 11, Clark 4 0-2 8, Jackson 4 0-0 8, Porter 1 0-0 2, Bostic 0 0-0 0, Druesdow 0 0-0 0. Totals — 24 4-7 61.

3-point goals — Houston 2 (Ruth, T. Moore); Nikiski 9 (Wik 5, Kornstad 3, Vollertsen). Team fouls — Houston 14, Nikiski 15. Fouled out — none.