Kam Blair
HOPE — After playing a near-flawless first half Friday night at Jac-Cen-Del, Hauser cooled off a little in the second half, and that carried over into Saturday’s home matchup with Oldenburg Academy.
The Jets had their hands full with the Twisters all night. They didn’t secure the victory until the final buzzer after a contested 3-pointer from Oldenburg was off the mark, allowing Hauser to hang on for a 60-58 win.
“We thought that we played a really positive all-around team game (Friday) night,” Hauser coach Trent Moorhead said. “The challenge is always to replicate that and elevate our standards to make that what we’re striving four, and this group is capable of that. We fell short of the standards tonight, but still found ways to win, which when you get down to February and March in high school basketball, finding ways to win is all that matters, and I’m proud of the guys for doing that.”
The Jets (15-5) led 32-25 at halftime, but the Twisters (8-10) began the second half with an 18-5 run to take a 43-37 lead. Oldenburg led 45-39 with 1:20 left in the third quarter before Taeshaun Tungate scored three consecutive baskets to tie it entering the fourth, and a Gavin Keller basket and Ledger Gelfius 3-pointer completed an 11-0 run that gave Hauser a 50-45 advantage.
“We just settled down and started taking great shots instead of good shots,” said Kam Blair, who led the Jets with 14 points and six rebounds.
“Our coaches talked about getting great shots and not good shots because we were kind of settling for OK shots,” Gelfius added. “Then, just boxing out. We were all trying to outjump them, but that wasn’t working.”
Hauser led 56-49 with 1:40 remaining, but the Twisters didn’t go away. They cut it to 59-58 on a 3-pointer by Connor Miles with 16 seconds left. Keller made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left, and the Jets’ tight defense prevented Oldenburg from getting off a good shot before time expired.
“We made plays when we needed to, especially in the second half,” Moorhead said. “We’ll take an ugly win over a loss any day, but there are certainly some things we need to clean up, and we’ll certainly do that down the stretch of our season. Credit to Oldenburg, they way they fought from start to finish. They’re a tough team, and they’re going to be a tough out in that sectional. But I was proud that we fought and found a way to get this one done tonight.”
Miles led all scorers with 27 points. Gelfius finished with 13 for the Jets, while Keller scored 12, and Tungate added 10 points and six rebounds. Stryker Gill dished out six assists.
“Balanced scoring has kind of been the staple of our season, so I was proud to see that again tonight,” Moorhead said. “I’m proud of the way Taeshaun Tungate rebounded inside down the stretch, Gavin Keller defending. We had some guys step up and make plays and a lot of guys across the board did that.”
Hauser 60, Oldenburg Academy 58
Oldenburg Academy;14;11;20;13;—;58
Hauser;14;18;13;15;—;60
Oldenburg Academy (8-10): Connor Miles 11 3-6 21, Zach Hoff 0 0-0 0, Jacob Cornelius 3 1-1 7, Adam Weber 1 0-0 2, Isaiah Waggoner 1 0-0 2, Jacob Stenger 2 1-2 6, Grant Goldsmith 0 3-4 3 Henry Wanstrath 4 3-5 11. Totals: 22 11-18 58.
Hauser (15-5): Alex Cord 2 0-0 4, Taeshaun Tungate 4 2-4 10, Ledger Gelfius 4 2-4 13, Stryker Gill 1 1-2 4, Gavin Keller 4 4-8 12, Kam Blair 5 4-5 15, Jake Barriger 1 1-2 3, Waylon Harper 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 14-25 60.
3-point goals: Oldenburg Academy 3 (Miles 2, Stenger); Hauser 4 (Gelfius 3, Gill).
