Jets open by routing Greenwood Christian

GREENWOOD — Hauser used its size and outside shooting to roll over Greenwood Christian 78-53 in the boys basketball opener for both teams Tuesday.

The visiting Jets, with three players standing 6-foot-4 or taller, overwhelmed the smaller Cougars in the paint and on the glass. And after that size established itself, Hauser began dropping shots from the perimeter.

That combination was too much for Greenwood Christian to overcome, which saw a relatively close 15-point game late in the third balloon to as much as 32 points in the fourth.

“They were really big and they shot the ball incredible, you have to take your hat off to them,” Greenwood Christian coach Jonny Marlin said. “At the same time, if a team shoots 60, 70 percent, you’re probably doing something wrong defensively. But they hit shots, they played hard and were very physical. They did what they wanted to do and they played a really good game.”

The Jets turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter and found themselves trailing 9-7 midway through the frame. But Hauser eventually settled itself and when it did, it quickly took control.

Leading 14-11 after one quarter, the Jets opened the second on a 12-3 run to push the margin to 26-14 and never looked back. Hauser led 36-23 at the break and still led by 14 (49-35) with 2:55 left in the third.

Using its size, the Jets ripped off an 11-0 run to pull away then outscored the Cougars 13-4 to start the fourth to turn the game into a rout.

“The first game is always going to be a tough one to start,” Hauser coach Griff Roth said. “It’s a hard place to play up here. They had a great crowd and they were really vocal. It threw us off our game, but the guys came out and played hard, got going in that second half and really got on a roll.”

Hauser put four players in double figures, led by 6-foot-9 center Alex Gross who scored 15 points. Joe Sweet hit three 3-pointers and scored 14 points, Justin Compton scored 12 and Matt Sweet scored 12 points on three 3-pointers, all in the fourth quarter off the bench.

Hauser attempted nearly four times as many free throws as the Cougars, going 17-of-26 from the line, compared to 6-of-7 for Greenwood Christian.