HOPE — Columbus North came out with a lot of intensity to start against Hauser in Saturday night’s boys basketball matchup.
The Bull Dogs closed the first quarter scoring 15 unanswered points, and that helped them to an 83-53 victory for their first win of the season.
“We wanted to come out with intensity because last week (against Heritage Christian), we came out a little flat,” North junior Nicholas Schiavello said. “This time, we played hard and got some steals early. We got a few shots going, and it built our confidence.”
The Jets (1-1) competed with North (1-1) in the early stages of the first quarter. The Bull Dogs led 9-7 until the 15 unanswered points put them ahead 24-7 after the first quarter. North converted several of Hauser’s 14 first-half turnovers for points.
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“We felt honestly like the first three or four minutes of the game, we came out, and we competed and we were doing what we wanted to do,” Hauser coach Nate Cangany said. “We had some things that didn’t work, and that’s why they made that big run early. They’re a good team, and I know they got beat on Tuesday and they shot better tonight. When we let that first run go, we were playing from behind.”
Blake Barker finished with a game-high 23 points for The Bull Dogs. Schiavello scored 17, and Blake King added 10.
Jackson Paradise finished with a team-high 13 points for the Jets. Trey Johnson had 12, and Will Trotter added 11.
The Bull Dogs led 49-21 at halftime. Barker sparked North to a 13-3 run to start the second half that put them ahead 62-24. The Bull Dogs led 69-31 after three quarters.
“I thought our players played unselfish and made the extra pass to knock down some shots, and that sure helps,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “There were a few times where we gave up a good shot to get a great shot. We felt like we could put some pressure on their guards. We knew early in the game, if we could get some tips or deflections, we might get some easy buckets.”
In the fourth quarter, the Bull Dogs led 76-36 but Hauser finished the game with a 17-7 run.
“I know it’s a cliché, but I do believe our team will be better in March than we are in November,” Cangany said. “We think that we have a lot of good pieces, but we just have to learn to play the game together. Hopefully, this does help us out a lot. We talked to the guys in the locker room after the game that we have to learn from it, and we have to move on.”
