NASHVILLE — Hauser and Brown County played very even through the first half of play during Tuesday’s boys basketball matchup.
The second half, however, was a different story.
The Jets went on a big run in the third quarter to push the lead into double digits, and it helped give them a 69-48 season-opening victory, giving new coach Nate Cangany his first win at Hauser.
“We came in and tried to figure out, ‘Are we varsity players?’ and it was about the guys believing they were varsity players,” Cangany said. “We felt like defensively, we got better in the second half. We held our composure better in the second half. We got better as the game went on, and it is something to build on for sure.”
Brown County coach John Berning was proud of his team’s effort in the loss.
“I’m happy with their effort and how hard they played,” Berning said. “If they work like they have been working, the payoff will come. If we would have finished a couple of plays here or there, the game could have been different. We started getting gassed a bit toward the end.”
The score was tied 12-12 toward the end of the first quarter until Parker Eickbush broke the tie with a shot just before the buzzer to give the Jets a 14-12 lead.
Hauser led 29-25 late in the second quarter until it went on a 6-0 run to end the half that was capped off with a Austin Chambers 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 35-25 lead.
The Jets got more aggressive to start the second half and went on a 9-3 run and Brown County could not make any comeback.
Sean Miller led Hauser with 16 points, and Chambers added 10. Aaron McCann finished with 15 points to lead the Eagles.
