Lathrop takes pair of games from Houston

HOUSTON — Last week, during a road trip to the Interior, Houston rallied to a 57-54 win over Lathrop after scoring just 10 points in the first half.

On Saturday, Houston nearly enjoyed a repeat performance.

Lathrop held Houston to only eight first-half points and squashed a late Hawks rally to score a 51-42 Mid-Alaska Conference victory at Houston High School on Saturday.

Houston outscored the Malemutes 34-27 during the final two periods, but fell short of scoring their second come-from-behind victory over Lathrop in eight days.

“When you score eight points in the first half, it’s going to be hard to come back from any deficit,” Houston head coach Dave Porter said. “But we never quit. The kids are always fighting. They made a good effort to come back at the end, but it was just too much.”

After Tyler Barron went to the basket for a layup during the opening minutes of regulation, Lathrop held the Hawks to just a free-throw until Houston senior Mitch Montreuil doubled his team’s points with a three-pointer with 4:58 left in the second quarter.

“We’ve been on first as of late, coming out and lighting it up from three-point range. I knew at some point it was going to stop,” Porter said. “You can’t keep shooting it from outside all the time. When we didn’t hit some shots early, the kids kind of didn’t know what to do.”

Houston was just 2-of-16 from the floor and 1-of-8 from three-point land during the first 16 minutes. The Hawks managed just three points in the first quarter, and five in the third.

“We were just real passive, and it cost us early on,” Porter said.

Sophomore Scott Kramer scored eight of his team-high nine points in the second half as the Hawks tried to erase the 16-point halftime deficit.

“We had a pretty decent second half,” Porter said. “For them to still score 41, that’s pretty decent.”

While the Hawks struggled offensivley, Porter praised his team’s work on the defensive side of the court.

“To hold a team to (51) points, I think that’s pretty good,” Porter said.

Houston allowed only one Malemute to hit double digits in scoring. But that one player, forward Keith Mays, burned the Hawks for a game-high 28.

“He just played well,” Porter said of Mays. “He had an excellent game.”

Mays shot 11-for-16 from the floor and also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds in the victory.

Andrew Holland added seven points for Lathrop.

Grace Christian scored a 65-53 win over Houston in Anchorage on Friday.

Zack Qual led the Hawks with 23 points.

Lathrop 51, Houston 42

Saturday, Houston High School

Lathrop 14-10-12-15—51

Houston 3-5-17-17—42

Lathrop (51) — Streeter 1 0-1 2, Dieringer 1 0-2 3, Holland 3 1-3 7, Ballard 1 1-3 3, Mays 11 6-7 28, Hamilton 3 1-2 8; Totals: 20 9-19 51

Houston (42) — Richards 1 0-0 2, Frank 1 2-2 5, Kramer 3 3-4 9, Qual 2 0-0 6, Rothley 1 2-4 5, Montreuil 2 2-3 7, Barron 3 2-2 8; Totals: 13 11-15 42.

3-point field goals: Lathrop 2 (Dieringer, Hamilton 1), Houston 5 (Qual 2); Total fouls: Lathrop 16, Houston 20; Fouled out: Lathrop- Streeter, Houston- Montreuil, Barron.

Girls basketball

Lathrop girls top Houston

HOUSTON — Lathrop scored a 29-16 win over the Houston Hawks at Houston High School on Saturday.

Lathrop held Houston scoreless for the first 5 minutes and 35 seconds of the first quarter. It took Lathrop nearly four minutes to record its first point of the game.

Lathrop led 17-5 at the half.

The Grace Christian Grizzlies earned a 36-18 winover the Houston Hawks in Anchorage on Friday.

Savanna James scored a team-high 16 for Houston.

Lathrop 29, Hosuton 16

Saturday, Houston High School

Lathrop 9-8-6-6—29

Houston 2-3-7-4—16

Lathrop (29) — Luke 2 0-0 4, Allen 2 1-3 5, Kennedy 1 0-0 2, Basinger 1 0-0 3, Reed 3 3-4 9, Brawley 3 0-0 6; Totals: 12 4-7 29.

Houston (16) — Dodds 1 0-0 3, James 1 6-6 8, Acton 1 0-0 2, Ritter 0 2-4 2, Madrid 0 1-3 1; Totals: 3 9-18 16.

3-point field goals: Lathrop 1 (Basinger 1), Houston 1 (Dodds 1); Total fouls: Lathrop 12, Houston 9.