HOPE — Columbus Christian enjoyed a healthy lead in the opening minutes of their game against Hauser, but it was all the Jets the rest of the duration.
Hauser got on a hot shooting streak to lift them on a 19-2 run to end the first quarter. It proved to be the difference as the Jets went on to a 72-51 boys basketball victory Saturday.
It was a balanced effort by the Jets as they put four players in double figures.
“We put more pressure on them on the defensive end,” said Hauser senior Connor Wilson, who scored a game high 19 points after putting up 23 points against North Decatur Friday. “We played hard-nosed defense.”
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After the Jets (6-5) guards got going in the first quarter, the post presence became a huge factor. The Crusaders (17-3) defense did not have an answer for Alex Gross and Justin Compton inside as the duo scored 13 and 16 points, respectively.
“They do a good job for us and they are great post players,” Wilson said. “We are lucky to have them and I think they’re one of the best in the conference.”
Columbus Christian coach Kevin Roth says that the length of the Jets proved to be too much.
“As the game wore on and they were able to get the ball inside to their big guy- 54 (Alex Gross),” Roth said. “We did a decent job on him the first part of the game, but as the game wore on, we were a little fatigued because of (Hauser’s) pressure. I didn’t think their length would bother us that much with our athletic guys, but it did bother us as they got shots inside. Give Hauser credit, they got a real good team and can spread the ball real quick.”
Once the Jets secured a 47-31 lead, the Jets put the game away with a 15-2 run. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Jets emptied their bench.
For the Crusaders, Logan Roth finished with 15 points. Blake Barker and Kyle Marsh each added 10 points.
Mason Sherman was the fourth man in double digits for the Jets with 10.
“We held our composer and started playing our kind of basketball,” Hauser assistant coach Griff Roth said. “We pushed the ball and played great defense and that just helped us push it out to our lead.”
