Hauser’s Koby Johnson, right, goes up for a shot against Columbus Christian’s Noah Edwards Tuesday Feb. 22, 2022, at Hauser.
Greg Jones | For The Republic
HOPE — Hauser boys basketball played its final tune up game before it starts sectional play next week when it hosted Columbus Christian.
The Crusaders kept the game tight in the first half, but the Jets turned on the engines and ballooned the lead in the third quarter and went on cruise control in the fourth quarter to end the regular season with an 81-52 victory.
“You have to give a lot of credit to (Columbus Christian) coach (Kevin) Roth and his kids. I thought they played incredibility hard. They played with great purpose. They’re first five is pretty solid,” Hauser coach Brent Keck said. “I was happy our kids responded and got it into another gear in the second half. We’re no different than anyone else. When it comes next week, if you don’t put together a full 32 minutes, you’re going to be watching.”
Hauser senior Bryce Bates achieved a huge milestone Tuesday. With 1:05 left in the third quarter, Bates scored his 1,000th career point as a Jet. When the game was paused for the moment, Bates didn’t have any idea he was close to 1,000 career points.
“It made me pretty happy. I’m there for them, and they’re there for me. I was glad to be able to get this achievement having these guys on my team,” Bates said. “I watched a lot of Hauser basketball and seen a lot of great players come play through here. Being able to join them, maybe achieving more than what they did, it means a lot to me.”
Hauser (9-13) looked to be running away with it when it led 9-3 early on in the first half, but then the Crusaders (19-16) stayed patient and worked the ball around to eventually tie the game at 18-18 midway through the second quarter. When it seemed like the Jets were going to takeoff, the Crusaders came up with a couple big baskets. Columbus Christian tied the game at 23-23 with 2:24 left in the first half. Hauser finished the half on a 7-3 run to lead 30-26 at the break.
“I told them at halftime whenever we come up here, we haven’t been as close as we are now,” Roth said of the first half. “You just have to keep your head up and keep battling… We played a good first half, but didn’t play a good second half. We have to find a way to put four quarters together.”
The Jets then used a 24-6 run in the middle of the third quarter to eventually close out the game.
Eli Miller was hot from the 3-point line for Hauser and finished with a game-high 28 points. Bates had 19, and Taeshaun Tungate added 10.
Peyton Rehlander had a team-high 20 points for the Crusaders, and Gabe Ridder added 13.
