Gavin Keller
HOPE — Hauser’s last tuneup heading into sectional play was one that the Jets want to erase from their memory.
Greenwood Christian Academy built a double digit lead early in the game, and Hauser couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole in a 55-40 loss Thursday night in the regular season finale.
“Greenwood Christian is a very talented and well-connected team offensively and defensively, and they showed that tonight,” Hauser coach Trent Moorhead said. “I thought they were strong finishing at the rim in some spots where we weren’t. They made big-time shots throughout the game where we came up short on our end. That’s a very great team, but it is a good lesson to learn as we head into sectional next week.”
Once the Jets (17-6) trailed 18-8 after the first quarter, they couldn’t get the lead back to single digits the rest of the game. Hauser cut the lead to 11 by utilizing the full-court press late in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars (14-7) knocked down their free throws to seal it.
Gavin Keller led the Jets with 12 points off the bench, while Taeshaun Tungate added 11. Max Booher led the Cougars with a game-high 23 points, and Noah Reed added 17.
“Gavin Keller was a huge brightspot from start to finish. I thought he gave us great energy on the defensive end,” Moorhead said. “He’s always having to draw tough assignments, he and Alex Cord both, so he had a tough assignment all night with Booher. Offensively, I thought he was aggressive and finished well, and Gavin is a great player and gets better every time he touches the floor.”
Hauser will put this game behind it as the Jets turn the focus to the sectional next week. They will play sectional host South Ripley in the semifinals on March 1.
“We’ll learn from this game and take lessons from it,” Moorhead said. “Starting (today), our season resets, and we’ve got to quickly shift our focus to South Ripley and the sectional. There’s certainly some great lessons we can learn from this game and take away pieces that are going to help us next week.
“These are high-character guys, so they know how to respond, and they have all season long,” he added. “They’re hard workers. They’re coachable. They’ll want to get back in the gym, they’ll want to watch the film and learn from this. They will be hungry next week, and we all will be together. I look forward to what will come from this because I know it’s going to be positive, and we’ll respond the right way all week long heading into the sectional.”
Greenwood Christian Academy 55, Hauser 40
Greenwood Christian;18;8;16;13;—;55
Hauser;8;8;12;12;—;40
Greenwood Christian (14-7): Taulman 2 0-0 5, Ceesay 1 3-4 5, Reed 5 4-6 17, Booher 9 1-1 21, Smith 1 0-0 3, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Simons 0 2-2 2. Totals: 19 10-14 55.
Hauser (17-6): Alex Cord 0 2-2 2, Taeshaun Tungate 4 3-6 11, Ledger Gelfius 1 2-3 4, Stryker Gill 2 0-0 5, Gavin Keller 3 5-7 12, Kam Blair 0 3-4 3, Waylon Harper 1 0-0 3. Totals: 11 15-22 40.
3-point goals: Greenwood Christian 7 (Reed 3, Booher 2, Taulman, Smith); Hauser 3 (Keller, Gill, Harper).
