Kings reign

HOUSTON — Zack Qual tried to end the third quarter with a big shot as he buried a three-pointer as the final seconds ticked off the third frame.

But Ketchikan King Paul Manabat trumped Qual’s bucket when the senior guard dealt a long shot from halfcourt as the third quarter expired.

Manabat hit a trio of three-pointers to lead the Kings through a 24-point third quarter and help Ketchikan score the 61-50 nonconference win over the Houston Hawks at Houston High School on Thursday.

“They moved the ball effectively and hit some big threes,” Houston head coach David Porter said after the loss. “They hit that big half-court thing. It just piled up.”

Houston and Ketchikan hit the locker room at the intermission tied at 25-25, but the Kings hit four big shots from beyond the arc en route to their 24-point third. Thanks Manabat’s buzzer-beater the Kings carried a 10-point advantage into the fourth.

“They went on a little run and we never really answered it,” Porter said.

Porter credited the Ketchikan coaching staff with a halftime adjustment that allowed the Kings to find some open space, and a bunch of open looks.

“They figured out our zone and they overloaded it,” Porter said.

Led by Manabat, Ketchikan hit seven three-pointers in the win and used its outside shot to consistently steal any second-half momentum away from the Hawks.

“We knew going into it we’d have our hands full,” Porter said. “I knew going into this game, Ketchikan is pretty dang good.”

Jase Scudero led the Kings with a game-high 17 points in the win. Manabat added 14 and Matt Carpenter chipped in eight.

While the Kings had Manabat, Houston did have an outside threat of its own. Qual hit three big shots from beyond the arc for the Hawks.

Midway through the first, Qual hit the first of his three, three-pointers to spark an 8-0 run. Qual capped the run by taking a steal from the Ketchikan offensive zone to the other end of the court to give the Hawks the seven-point advantage, their biggest lead of the night.

Led by Qual, Bryan Mason and Scott Herman, the Hawks brought an up-tempo approach to the court Thursday. While Houston did have some success pushing the ball up the floor, Porter said that’s not always part of the Hawks’ game plan.

“We have some quickness, but we’re not really a fast team,” Porter said. “We really do a lot of half-court set stuff.”

While Porter said he was very pleased with the way the Hawks executed offensively during the loss, he admitted Houston, in some respects, is still trying to find its identity as a basketball team.

“We’re still trying to figure out who we are,” Porter said. “That’s the tough thing. This late in the season, that’s not a good thing. We’re hoping we’d figure that out a lot sooner.”

In addition to Qual, Mason and Herman — a pair of versatile threats for the Hawks — combined for 27 points in the loss. Mason, who hit jumpers and attacked the basket, led the Hawks with 16 points. Herman, who averages about 17 points per game, added 11.

“All three of those guys have pretty much averaged double digits all season,” Porter said of Qual, Mason and Herman.

The Hawks took a break from its Mid-Alaska Conference schedule for the nonconference date with Ketchikan. Houston returns to MAC play next weekend, capping the regular season with home games against North Pole (Feb. 26) and West Valley (Feb. 27).

Houston suffered losses to both programs during a recent road trip to the Interior, but Porter said he’s expecting better things when the Hawks host their conference rivals.

“We’re still working on some things,” Porter said. “But we’ve got the tools.”

In early March, Houston will return north for the MAC tournament, slated for March 6-7 at Lathrop High School.

Knights sweep

West Valley

FAIRBANKS — The Colony basketball squads won a pair of games at West Valley High School on Thursday.

The Colony girls scored a 37-27 win over the Wolfpack and the boys cruised to a 68-48 victory.

In other action, the Lathrop girls beat Palmer 45-34. Results of the Palmer boys’ game at Lathrop was unavailable prior to press time.

Both Colony and Palmer remain in Fairbanks throughout the weekend.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Ketchikan 61, Houston 50

Thursday, Houston High School

Ketchikan 13-12-24-12—61

Houston 15-10-14-11—50

Ketchikan (61) — Carpenter 3 1-2 8, K. Manabat 3 0-0 7, Phil 1 0-0 2, P. Manabat 5 0-1 14, Whicker 2 3-5 7, Scudero 7 2-2 17, Pahang 0 2-2 2, Boresley 0 1-2 1, Headley 1 0-1 2; Totals: 22 9-15 61.

Houston (50) — Mason 7 1-4 16, Qual 5 0-0 13, Contreras 2 0-0 4, Moore 0 1-2 1, Herman 4 3-4 11, Thompson 2 1-4 5; Totals: 20 6-14 51.

Three-point field goals: Ketchikan 7 (P. Manabat 4), Houston 4 (Qual 3); Total fouls: Ketchikan 15, Houston 17