Alex Cord
HOPE — Hauser made Morristown feel the pressure all Saturday afternoon.
The Jets forced countless turnovers that led to points at the other end to rout the Yellow Jackets for a 72-36 Mid-Hoosier Conference boys basketball victory.
“Playing some full-court defense, using our athleticism and playing with our speed, we let our defense create our offense, especially there in the third quarter,” Hauser coach Trent Moorhead said. “We got steals. We got deflections that led to easy shots around the rim and we converted.”
The Jets (6-7, 2-1) turned up the full-court pressure to start the game. It led to Morristown turnovers and Hauser got easy baskets in transition to lead 9-2. Once the Yellow Jackets (1-12, 1-3) settled down, they cut into the lead and trailed 17-14 after the first quarter.
The Jets led 21-18 in the second quarter, but then they turned on the motors. They played unselfish and found the open man during transition and in the half-court offense to end the first half on 12-2 run to stretch the lead to 33-20.
Hauser then went back to the press to start the second half, which led to easy transition buckets at the other end during a 21-2 run to balloon the lead to 54-22. The Jets abandoned the press and eventually made it a 62-37 lead to trigger a running clock for the remainder of the game.
Another aspect that Moorhead was pleased about was free-throw shooting. Hauser went 19 of 20 from the line.
“That was a great job from our guys. Shooting 20 free throws is one thing, but making 95% of those is a totally different thing,” Moorhead said. “I was really proud of our performance at the free-throw line. A lot of guys contributed.”
For the Jets, nine guys got on the scoreboard, with Alex Cord leading the way with a career-high 15 points. Taeshaun Tungate had 12, and Ledger Gelfius added 10.
Morristown was led by Jameson Palmer with 21 points.
“A big day for Alex going 7 of 7 from the line. He works really hard, and he’s a quiet worker. He’s not a real vocal kid, but he plays really hard and does things the right way. I’m glad that paid off,” Moorhead said. “Kam Blair coming off the bench for eight points, he was big for us today. Kam Blair, Gavin Keller, Owen McIntyre, those guys continue to come in and give us great minutes, and we got to see a lot of guys play toward the end, which is really good for us.”
Hauser 72, Morristown 36
Morristown;14;6;7;9;—;36
Hauser;17;16;29;10;-;72
Morristown (1-12, 1-3): Jameson Palmer 7 5-6 21, Chase Theobald 1 2-4 4, Kamdyn Gaines 1 0-0 2, Mathew Carlton 4 0-0 9. Totals: 13 7-10 36.
Hauser (6-7, 2-1): Alex Cord 4 7-7 15, Ledger Gelfius 3 4-4 10, Stryker Gill 3 0-0 6, Jake Barriger 4 1-1 9, Taeshaun Tungate 4 4-4 12, Kameron Blair 4 0-0 8, Owen McIntyre 1 0-0 2, Gavin Keller 2 0-0 4, Alex Bower 0 3-4 3, Jentzen Bechtel 1 0-0 3, Taylen Absher 0 0-0 0, Sam Taylor 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 19-20 72.
3-point goals: Morristown 3 (Palmer 2, Carlton); Hauser 1 (Bechtel).
