Will Householter sprung for rebounds, turning in one motion with nary a dribble and flinging the ball the length of the court, a floppy-haired high school point guard turning into a supercharged Kevin Love.
In the third quarter, the Mira Costa point guard flung a pass to senior Nick Lundy for a layup —and seconds later, whipped another outlet to Lundy for another bucket, Householter jogging back down court with a grin and two fingers held up toward his bench.
He was hunting for a triple-double in this Monday night win over Lynwood. Two fingers for two assists away. He was hunting, too, because that’s what this Mira Costa team is built to do, to hunt for steals and push the pace for lightning-quick fast breaks.
“Our motto is, ‘Let’s hunt,’ ” Householter grinned.
He got his triple-double and Mira Costa a 92-64 win, the team jumping out to a 7-0 start, hoping to claim a Division 1 crown and establish itself among Southern California’s best programs by playing tough defense and controlling the break.
It starts with Householter and backcourt mate Dylan Black, who came into Mira Costa together as freshmen and play off one another perfectly. Householter is a probing dime-dropper and Black a sharpshooter, flanked by senior Lundy and sophomore Preston Ezewiro.
“We can win ugly if we need to, but we definitely want to rebound and run, get out in transition,” coach Neal Perlmutter said.
Blink and the Mustangs were off again Monday against Lynwood, Householter eventually snaring a rebound in the final seconds for his first-ever high school triple-double, setting up Black for 16 and Ezewiro for 14.
“If I can throw a pass down the floor and I just don’t have to play any offense,” Householter said with a laugh, “it’s a nice break for me.”
Coaches’ sons
The bright spot from Lynwood’s blowout loss — and for a rebuilding program, in general — is a 6-foot-3 baby gazelle of a freshman point guard who just so happens to know his coach pretty well.
Jason Crowe Jr., son of coach and former Cal State Northridge player Jason Crowe, dropped 29 of Lynwood’s 64 points, averaging just under 30 points through three high school games. He flashed a dynamic inside-out game, with a nifty go-to hop-step and soft touch around the rim and a smooth lefty stroke from three-point range.
If coaching one son sounds like enough, try two. Santa Monica High is 4-0 as coach James Hecht has senior son Josh and junior Luke playing for him in his 29th season. Luke’s out with an ankle injury, but Josh dropped 14 points to help lead Santa Monica to a 68-61 win Monday over West Torrance.
“I don’t even think about, ‘Oh, that’s my son’ when I’m coaching them,” Hecht said.
