Hauser’s Gavin Keller looks to pass against his brother, South Decatur’s Jamison Keller, Friday at Hauser High School. Tommy Walker/For The Republic
HOPE — The Hauser boys basketball team put this game away in the first half.
The Jets went on a big run in the second quarter and staved off a couple of South Decatur runs in the third quarter to remain unbeaten in the Mid-Hoosier Conference with a 77-51 victory over the Cougars.
“We talked about finishing at the rim a lot, and when you can do that and make 3-point shots, as well, it opens up the floor for everybody,” Hauser coach Trent Moorhead said. “It was a really good team effort on the offensive end. Defensively, having to defend a player like Jacob Scruggs, a premier scorer and one on the best players in the conference, it takes a team effort to be able to stop him.”
Both teams were tight in the first quarter with the jets (12-3, 4-0) leading 14-12 after the first quarter. Hauser then used a 13-0 run in the second quarter to burst out to a 29-13 lead. The Jets hit a couple more 3-point baskets right before the end of the half to take a 37-18 lead at the break.
South Decatur (8-8, 3-2) got it as close to 13 on a couple occasions in third quarter, but Hauser responded with scoring runs of their own to keep the Cougars at bay.
Hauser was led by Ledger Gelfius, Taeshaun Tungate and Gavin Keller all scoring 15 points apiece. Stryker Gill had 13 points, 11 assists and three steals; and Kam Blair added 12 points for the Jets.
Scruggs led South Decatur with a game-high 25 points, and Jamison Keller — the brother of Hauser’s Gavin Keller — added 10.
“I was really proud of the way Gavin Keller played tonight. He came off the bench, had excellent defense and was on Jacob Scruggs,” Moorhead said. “He finished through contact and made some 3-point shots. It was a fantastic game for him, and he will only continue to get better. I’m really proud of him and everybody tonight.”
The Jets finished with eight players contributing on the scoreboard.
“Our coaches were really talking to us about unselfish for this game and not have a one-man show,” Gelfius said, “because when our team is unselfish, we are really hard to beat.”
“We talked about that being Hauser basketball. Balanced scoring, moving the ball on the offensive end, being unselfish, passing up a good shot for a great shot, we did that consistently throughout the night,” Moorhead added. “What I love about this group is that they don’t care who gets which. As long as we have more points than the other team, that’s what matters. When our guys play with that mentality, we are hard to beat. We showed that tonight, and I’m really proud of them.”
Hauser can’t celebrate this win for long since it is set to host Bateville tonight. South Decatur has a week off until visiting Rising Sun on Feb. 3.
Hauser 77, South Decatur 51
South Decatur;17;6;21;12;—;51
Hauser;14;23;19;21;—;77
South Decatur (8-8, 3-2): Taylen Absher 0 0-0 0, Jacob Scruggs 9 5-5 25, Garrett Huckelberry 0 0-0 0, Drake Skaggs 1 1-2 3, Jayden Traylor 0 0-0 0, Jaylynn McMurray 3 0-0 8, Adam Bryant 0 0-0 0, Grady Scudder 0 0-0 0, Alex Meyer 0 0-0 0, Colby Rathburn 2 1-6 5, Jamison Keller 4 0-1 10. Totals: 19 7-14 51.
Hauser (12-3, 4-0): Alex Cord 1 1-2 3, Taeshaun Tungate 7 1-3 15, Ledger Gelfius 5 2-2 15, Stryker Gill 4 3-4 13, Gavin Keller 6 1-2 15, Kam Blair 5 1-2 12, Jake Barriger 1 0-0 2, Tyler Diewert 0 0-0 0, Bill Miller 0 0-0 0, Waylon Harper 0 0-0 0, Jentzen Bechtel 0 0-0 0, RJ Foster 1 0-0 2. Totals: 29 9-15 77.
3-point goals: South Decatur 6 (Scruggs 2, McMurray 2, Keller 2); Hauser 8 (Gelfius 3, Gill 2, Keller 2, Blair).
