Houston boys, Su Valley boys, girls advance to state

The Homer Mariners got past Houston on the first day of the Southcentral Conference Championships boys basketball tournament, but the Hawks won the one that mattered more.

The Hawks beat the Mariners 66-62 in the tournament’s second-place game and earned the Southcentral’s final automatic bid to the ASAA/First National Bank 3A State Basketball Championships, which start Wednesday, March 18 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

The Hawks started their tourney with a 71-67 loss to the Mariners in the first round, but used three straight wins to score a trip to state. The Hawks flew past Nikiski and Redington before upsetting the Mariners, the No. 2 seed in the conference. Homer was 6-2 in conference play during the regular season. Houston was 3-5.

Redington, also 3-5 during the regular season, was 1-2 in the tourney. The Huskies scored their lone win on the first day, a 55-48 victory over Nikiski.

The Hawks are seeded eighth in the 3A boys tourney, and meet top-seeded Mount Edgecumbe March 18 at 8 a.m.

Both Redington and Houston finished 0-2 in the girls tournament.

Both the Susitna Valley boys and girls qualified for the ASAA 2A state tourney, which starts Thursday.

The Su Valley boys finished second in the Southern Conference with a 51-46 victory over Seward. The Rams also beat the Seahawks 57-47 on the first day of the tourney.

Su Valley earned the No. 5 seed on the 2A bracket and opens against fourth-seeded Metlekatla Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

The Su Valley girls qualified for state with a 43-25 victory over Unalaska. The Rams also beat Unalaska 39-23 earlier in the tourney,

The SV girls are the seventh seed and face second-seeded Craig Thursday at 3:15 p.m.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.