Houston girls open conference tourney with victory

ANCHORAGE — Not much separated the Houston Hawks and Nikiski Bulldogs for three quarters. But with a big fourth-quarter burst, the Hawks blasted into the semifinals.

Houston used a 19-9 fourth-quarter run to get past Nikiski 40-33 during the first round of the Southcentral Conference Championships girls basketball tournament Thursday at Grace Christian School in Anchorage. With the victory, Houston, the bracket’s No. 5 seed, moved forward, and will face top-seeded Homer Friday at 2 p.m. at Grace Christian.

Houston’s Kimberly Quincy posted a double-double in the win, collecting 15 points and 12 rebounds. Aspen Ruth was just shy of another double-double for the Hawks, with nine points and eight boards.

Seward slips by Houston in OT

The Houston boys fell just short of a spot in the semifinal round, falling in overtime to Seward 54-47 Thursday at Grace Christian School.

The Hawks trailed by three in the final seconds of regulation before Kade Taylor knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime. The buzzer-beater tied the game at 45, but Seward outscored Houston 9-2 during the tiebreaker.

Taylor led Houston with 22 points during the loss. He hit four three-pointers. Ben Bitler added 14 points and eight rebounds. Ben Pelesasa led Houston with 12 rebounds.

Ronnie Jackson paced Seward with a game-high 32.

With the loss, Houston drops into the consolation side of the bracket, but can still move into the tournament’s third-place game. The Hawks play Saturday at 10 a.m., against an opponent to be determined.