Ledger Gelfius
HOPE — When Rushville dropped its scheduled boys basketball game with Hauser last fall, Jets coach Trent Moorhead and athletics director Kyle Shipp wanted to find a replacement.
Hauser found an opponent in Indiana Math and Science Academy, and Tuesday night, the Jets’ math added up to a lopsided victory. Class A No. 4 Hauser cruised to an 80-41 win.
“Rushville dropped us kind of right at the beginning of the season when most schedules were already full,” Moorhead said. “So we were scrambling for weeks at a time trying to find an opponent. It was certainly a challenge that late in the game, having a game get dropped, trying to find somebody to be able to fill the game we needed, so it was good for us. No matter who the opponent is, we want to come out and handle business, and I’m glad we did.”
Hauser (16-3) had two players score at least 20 points. Ledger Gelfius tallied 23 points, while Taeshaun Tungate had 20, Gavin Keller scored 15 and Kam Blair added nine.
“We just trust our teammates, and we all shared the ball,” Gelfius said. “It was really nice. It’s good for us to get another win, and we’ll be focused for Friday.”
Taeshaun Tungate
The Jets shot 56 percent (31 of 55) from the field in putting up its second-highest point total of the season.
“It’s a well-rounded scoring effort every night,” Tungate said. “It’s not just this night. We all played good as a team. We’re really not satisfied with 80 points because they’re not nearly as good as we are, but we’re still cool with the ‘W’ at the end of the day.”
The Knights (12-7) actually led 9-6 midway through the first quarter before Hauser went on a 12-0 run to take the lead for good. Indiana Math and Science got back within 20-15, but 3-pointers by Waylon Harper and Alex Cord sparked another 11-0 run to put the Jets comfortably in control at 31-15 early in the second quarter.
Hauser built the lead to 49-27 at halftime. The Jets led 66-31 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, triggering a running clock for the rest of the game.
“I was proud of the way we got out in transition and got easy baskets at the rim,” Moorhead said. “That’s kind of been a staple of our offense all year long — being able to move the ball, get it up the court quickly, finish off of two feet in the paint.”
Hauser played without leading scorer Collin Buck, who rolled an ankle in overtime of Saturday’s win against Indian Creek. He is expected to be able to play on senior night Friday against Jac-Cen-Del.
Stryker Gill dished out five assists and grabbed eight rebounds Tuesday to lead the Jets to a 31-19 advantage on the boards. Hauser committed only three turnovers and forced 17.
“Certainly, credit goes to a lot of different guys tonight — Stryker Gill distributing the ball in transition, Ledger Gelfius with a lot of paint finishes along with some outside perimeter makes, as well, and Taeshaun Tungate finishing strong at the rim and Gavin Keller the same way,” Moorhead said. “Guys are always putting themselves in positions to be scorers and receive the ball, and those guys are always ready to be passers, as well. I thought it was a great team offense oriented on moving the basketball and putting points on the board. I was proud of the way we handled the ball offensively tonight.”
Hauser 80, Indiana Math and Science 41
Math and Science;15;12;10;4;—;41
Hauser;26;23;13;8;—;80
Indiana Math and Science (12-7): Davion Murray 3 0-1 6, Jayden Patterson 2 0-0 5, Roniel Tibe 1 0-0 3, Spencer Turner 2 3-4 8, Latrell Wooden 0 0-0 0, Xzavion Collins 3 2-3 8, Ronnell Scott 0 0-0 0, Giovani Avel 4 2-2 11. Totals: 15 7-10 41.
Hauser (16-3): Tyler Deiwert 0 0-0 0, Alex Cord 1 1-2 4, Taeshaun Tungate 10 0-0 20, Gavin Keller 6 3-6 15, Ledger Gelfius 9 3-3 23, Bill Miller 0 0-0 0, Stryker Gill 0 1-2 1, Kam Blair 2 4-4 9, Joel Bechtel 1 0-0 2, Jacob Bell 0 0-0 0, Waylon Harper 1 0-0 3, Jentzel Bechtel 1 0-0 3. Totals: 31 12-17 80.
3-point goals: Indiana Math and Science 4 (Patterson, Tibe, Turner, Abel). Hauser 6 (Gelfius 2, Cord, Blair, Harper, Je. Bechtel).
