Hauser’s Kam Blair (22) drives along the baseline before dishing it out to an open teammate against Shawe Memorial during Thursday’s game at Hauser High School, in Hope, IN.
Nicholas Shaw | For the Republic
HOPE — The Hauser boys basketball team never trailed against Shawe Memorial Thursday night.
The Jets went on a 21-3 run at one point during the first half to cruise to an 80-43 win.
Hauser coach Trent Moorhead rotated his roster in and out and did a lot of mixing to the lineup throughout the game. It was a good experience for his players that don’t see a ton of time on the floor.
“We put on display how much of a well-rounded team we are,” Moorhead said. “A lot of guys can touch the floor and contribute in positive ways offensive and defensively, whether it was getting assists, scoring the basketball, catch and shoot 3-pointers or defending really well on the other end, it was a collective team effort from a lot of guys contributing. It was a very good night to get a win against a sectional opponent.”
Ten total Jets players got into the scoring column. It was led by Gavin Keller, who finished with 21 points. Stryker Gill had a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists.
Before the game, Gill was honored with a basketball for earning 500 career assists, which he achieved in the South Ripley game last month. He led the state in assists last year with 223, which is also a single-season school record.
“It felt pretty good. That’s the player I’ve always been. I like to pass first. I like to give it to my teammates. I like sharing the ball,” Gill said. “I like seeing my teammates succeed. I always say, ‘A great pass is always better than a great shot.’ For me, it is better than a layup. It’s a sense of pride and taking that in and knowing that’s the player I am, and finally accomplishing that feels really good.”
Hauser (10-2) led 48-17 at halftime and then started the second half with a 6-1 run to trigger a running clock with about five minutes left in the third quarter. The Jets led 68-32 after the third quarter, and the starters were pulled from the game, with most of the JV players getting valuable minutes in the fourth quarter.
“It was kind of a surreal thing,” Gill said. “We’ve all been playing together for years in high school, and some people split between JV and varsity, but it kind of felt we were little kids again playing with one another.”
Waylon Harper and RJ Foster added eight points apiece for Hauser. Joel Bechtel had seven, and Bill Miller added six.
Hauser 80, Shawe Memorial 43
Shawe Memorial;9;8;15;11;—;43
Hauser;20;28;20;12;—;80
Shawe Memorial (4-10): Clark Wichter 3 3-4 9, Gus Grote 2 8-8 13, Canaan Hambrick 3 2-2 10, Logan Stiver 3 4-4 11, Jason Hart 0 0-0 0, Taylor Ralston 0 0-0 0, Aiden Edmundson 0 0-0 0, Conner Kahn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 17-18 43.
Hauser (10-2): Tyler Deiwert 1 0-0 3, RJ Foster 4 0-0 8, Gavin Keller 9 3-3 21, Peter Taylor 0 0-0 0, Bill Miller 2 2-2 6, Stryker Gill 4 1-1 11, Aiden Bense 0 0-0 0, Joel Bechtel 3 1-2 7, Kam Blair 4 0-0 9, Jacob Bell 0 0-0 0, Waylon Harper 3 0-0 8, Braydon McFarland 2 0-0 5, Jake Barriger 1 0-0 2. Totals: 33 7-8 80.
3-point goals: Shawe Memorial 4 (Hambrick, Grote, Stiver). Hauser 7 (Gill 2, Harper 2, Deiwert, Blair, McFarland).
