Hauser’s Bryce Bates drives to the basket against Henryville’s Sam Guernsey Saturday at Hauser. See more photos from the game at therepublic.com.
HOPE — With 5:02 left in the second quarter, Hauser boys basketball Brent Keck called a timeout after seeing his team lose its double-digit lead to visiting Henryville in hopes he could get his team the respond.
The Jets got the message.
Following the timeout, Hauser outscored the Hornets 32-14 the rest of the game to secure a 46-32 victory on its Homecoming night.
“We’re still young in a lot of spots, and I thought we started with great energy and toughness,” Keck said. “(Henryville) made their run, but I thought we grew up tonight. I thought we responded really well. They made a run and we answered the bell. We came out with great energy and focus to start the second half. I’m happy for our kids because last year, I don’t think we would have won that game. I thought we really grew and matured, and hopefully, that will springboard us moving forward.”
The Jets (3-2) got off to a quick start, working the ball underneath the basket to help themselves jump out to a 6-0 lead. After a basket from Henryville, Hauser went on a 8-1 run to expand its lead to 14-3. The Hornets finally woke up and turned up the intensity and knocked down a few shots to finish out the first quarter on an 11-0 run to tie the game at 14-14.
The bleeding didn’t stop for the Jets when Henryville carried the momentum into the second quarter to expand its lead to 22-14. Eli Miller gave Hauser a bit of a spark when he drained a 3-pointer with just under three minutes left in the first half. Ledger Gelfius sank a 3-pointer from the left side to cut the deficit to 24-22, but a Hornets basket made it 26-22 at the half.
The Jets defense was aggressive to start out the second half and forced turnovers which led to baskets at the other end to retake the lead at 28-27. After a Henryville free throw, Hauser closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to go ahead 35-28 heading into the fourth.
The Jets scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to expand the lead to 44-28 and essentially seal the win.
For Hauser, its top three scorers were seniors with Bryce Bates leading the team with 18 points. Miller finished with 10, and Koby Johnson added nine.
“Our seniors have been great in practice and have been great leaders. We’re still not there yet, but our culture is getting a lot better,” Keck said. “Our culture is getting so much better. They’ve cared about each other, and it shows in the way they practice and shows in the way they play. I’m pleased with the direction of our team. We’re really heading in the right direction. It we keep growing and evolving each week, I like our chances in March. I think we’re going to evolve into something that’s going to be a tough out come March.”
