Hauser’s Ledger Gelfius drives to the basket during a game against Brown County at Hauser High School. Tommy Walker/For The Republic
HOPE — The Hauser boys basketball team controlled the game right from the opening tip.
The Jets pushed the tempo early and visiting Brown County couldn’t match as Hauser cruised to a 73-33 victory in the season opener and coaching debut of Trent Moorhead Tuesday night.
“We put a lot of work in. We’ve prepared. We were ready for the challenge of the season opener tonight, and proud of the way that culminated into a good performance here this evening,” Moorhead said. “A lot of guys stepped up throughout the night. A lot of different guys helped out with not just scoring, but sharing the basketball and playing together offensively and defensively.”
The Jets (1-0) got plenty of transition baskets and perimeter shooting. Ledger Gelfius had the hot hands in the first half for Hauser when hit a 3-pointer to make it 20-5. Jake Barriger then drained a 3 before time expired to take a 29-7 lead after the first quarter. The Eagles (0-1) didn’t do much in the second quarter to close the gap as they trailed 43-17 at the half. Hauser started the third quarter on a 10-0 to trigger a running clock for the rest of the game.
“We’re on a journey. We obviously want to do the best we can this year, but with our team being so young, it’s a long term process,” Brown County coach Ronnie Lewis said. “They started out kind of slow but we had our bright spots. That’s all that we’re looking for. We’re looking to take it step by step and have these young freshmen and sophomores figure the game out as we go.”
For the Jets, Gelfius poured in a game-high 28 points, while Barriger added 14. For the Eagles, Eli Wrightsman had a team-high 13 points.
“It was a lot of hard work from Ledger over the summer and through the fall, he worked his tail off,” Moorhead said of the performance. “Everything he got tonight and that he’s going to get through the season, he’s earned. He’s been a prime example of what hard work and that work paying off should look like on the court.”
Hauser 73, Brown County 33
Brown County;7;10;2;14;—;33
Hauser;29;14;17;13;—;73
Brown County (0-1): Caleb Hammond 0 0-0 0, Brady Bond 0 0-0 0, Eli Wrightsman 4 5-6 13, Billy Hubbard 0 0-0 0, Jesse Hubbard 4 0-0 8, Westin Fulford 1 0-3 2, Noah Lewis 2 1-2 5, Eli Harden 1 0-0 3, Cash Harden 1 0-0 2, Logan Weis 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 6-12 33.
Hauser (1-0): Alex Cord 2 0-0 4, Ledger Gulfius 11 1-2 28, Stryker Gill 1 0-0 3, Jake Barriger 6 0-0 14, Owen McIntyre 4 0-0 8, Gavin Keller 1 4-6 6, Sam Taylor 0 1-2 1, Alex Bower 1 0-1 2, Taylen Absher 2 1-4 5, Jentzen Bechtel 1 0-0 2. Totals: 29 7-15 73.
3-point goals: Brown County 1 (E. Harden); Hauser 8 (Gelfius 5, Barriger 2, Stryker).
