Palmer boys top Houston

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Sports Editor

PALMER -- Going into the 2004-05 prep basketball season, the Palmer Moose boys' squad is surrounded by a few unknowns. A new coaching staff combined with virtually an entirely new varsity roster, makes the Moose themselves an unknown commodity.

But on Thursday, the Moose might have made at least one thing apparent -- their ability to play on the defensive end.

The Moose, led by frightningly quick guards David Doerr and Jeremy Weber, showed that ability to play defense, holding the Houston Hawks to just two second-quarter points in a 50-35 win in the opening round of the Palmer Elks Showdown at Palmer High School.

With the score tied at 11 after the first quarter, Palmer -- led by the quickness of Weber and Doerr -- created turnovers and capitalized off those opportunities in the second quarter. Doerr also contributed offensively scoring six of his team's 16 points in the second quarter.

"Hard nosed defense," first-year Palmer head coach Greg Fullmer said. "Jeremy and David are quicker than heck. We had a couple of guards who really pressured the ball; played full court man for 32 minutes. That made a big difference."

Palmer held Houston to just a pair of Quentin Veit free throws in the quarter.

Doerr and Aaron Kohring each scored 14 points in the Palmer win.

Sophomore Donovan Parker posted nine points to lead the Hawks. Junior Andy Faiks added six points for Houston.

In other Showdown action, West Valley edged North Pole 69-61. Ronald Moore led WVHS with 17 points.