Houston boys top Hutchison in 2OT

HOUSTON — Nothing seemed to slow down the Houston Hawks Thursday night.

The Hawks didn’t lose steam after two starters and a key reserve fouled out. Hutchison forward Darren Silas couldn’t stop the Hawks with his game-high 43 points.

Houston didn’t even run out of gas in either of two overtime frames.

Matthew Barron sank a pair of late free throws, and reserves Hunter Pease and Dakota Holmgren grabbed late steals to help Houston score a 79-77 double-overtime victory over Hutchison at Houston High School Thursday.

“The effort level was fantastic,” Houston first-year head coach Steve Henderson said after the win. “You can’t ask for much more. They were as intense in the 40th minute as they were in the first.”

Barron netted a team-high 38 points and drained the go-ahead free throws with 41 seconds left in the second overtime to give the Hawks the win.

With the new lead, Pease grabbed an errant pass on Hutchison’s next possession, and Holmgren stole the ball from Silas on Hutchison’s final possession of the game to help Houston secure the nonconference win over Hutchison, a 2012 state 3A tournament qualifier that won the Husky Shootout in Kotzebue last weekend.

“It was a great, all-around effort by everyone,” Henderson said of his players. “I’m so proud of them all. We got key contributions from every single guy.”

Barron finished only three rebounds shy of a triple-double, collecting 38 points, 11 steals and seven rebounds. He was 12 of 24 from the field and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line.

“When the kid stays out of foul trouble, he’s unstoppable,” Henderson said of Barron. “He’s go so much energy, and has just got this passion to win that’s unmatched.”

Mitchell Ruta added 14 points and six steals, while Jace Taylor chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

Houston used late efforts to tie the game at halftime, the end of regulation and first overtime.

Houston trailed by five points with about a minute left in the fourth quarter. After Silas hit a free throw to give Hutchison the five-point advantage, Taylor went 1 for 2 from the line to cut the lead to four.

With 40 seconds left in the fourth, Barron drained a pair of free throws to cut the score to 63-61. Barron also set up the game-tying bucket during the final seconds.

With the clock approaching the 10-second mark, Barron grabbed the ball on Houston’s defensive end, raced to the other end of the floor and bounced a pass to an open Lane Taylor, who sank the shot to tie the game at 63 and force overtime.

Houston also trailed during the final seconds of the first overtime. Silas went 2 for 2 from the line to give Hutchison the 70-69 lead with 7.8 seconds left. But with 2.0 seconds to go, Ruta hit a free throw to send the game into overtime.

Ruta also hit a key three-pointer in the second overtime for the Hawks.

Houston continues play against Delta today at Houston High School. The girls host the Huskies at 1 p.m. and the boys game will follow.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.

Houston 79,

Hutchison 77 2OT

Thursday, Houston High

Hutchison 22-11-15-15-7-7—77

Houston 21-12-13-17-7-9—79

Hutchinson (77) — Johnston 1 0-0 2, Page 4 1-2 11, John 8 1-2 17, Silas 17 9-13 43, Benson 2 0-1 4; Totals: 32 11-18 77.

Houston (79) — L. Taylor 3 0-1 6, Brandt 4 0-1 8, Barron 12 11-14 38, Ruta 5 3-4 14, Holmgren 0 1-2 1, Buzby 1 0-0 2, J. Taylor 3 4-6 10; Totals: 28 19-28 79.