HOPE — Hauser boys basketball coach Bob Nobbe has long praised the ability of his team to get production from a number of different sources.
On Saturday night, the Jets put that production on display, with four players scoring in double figures in a 70-63 victory against Milan.
Hauser (8-5) got the emotional lift it was looking for after a disappointing 20-point loss on Friday night at Lawrenceburg.
“The guys’ psyche, I think, is certainly much better,” Nobbe said. “To come back out and play better, do things that we want to try to execute, it’s a better feeling.”
The Jets fell into a 13-4 hole early on, but a basket from Sweet and a 3-pointer by Connor Wilson sparked a burst of nine straight points that tied the game by the end of the first quarter.
Sweet — who scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half — and Wilson hit 3s early in the second quarter to put Hauser in front, and Zach Gearhart knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:56 to go in the half, capping an extended 24-6 run that gave the Jets a 28-19 edge it never let go of.
Milan crept back to within four points shortly after halftime, at which point it was Quindon Shipley’s turn to take over. The senior scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the third period, including a burst of six straight that he finished off with a steal and layup to make it 44-33 with 4:09 to go in the quarter.
“Our team really knows each other really well,” Sweet said of his team’s offensive balance. “We’ve been friends for a long time, and if someone’s hitting, we recognize that and we hit the guy. It doesn’t matter who it is. We all distribute the ball and do what’s best for the team.”
Hauser scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter, stretching its lead to a comfortable 62-46 with four and half minutes remaining. The Indians made a late push but was unable to get any closer than the final margin.
Gearhart finished with 14 points for the Jets, while Wilson and Zach Johnson added 10 and eight, respectively. Jordan Burton had 20 points to lead Milan, which also got 18 from Kyle Meyer.
Emerging triumphant against the school best known for its unlikely run to the 1954 Indiana state title should provide a big momentum boost to Hauser, a small school with some lofty postseason dreams of its own.
“We’re still not satisfied,” Shipley said of Saturday’s win. “We won’t be satisfied until big things happen in the tournament.”
