Ledger Gelfius
EDINBURGH — Hauser didn’t quite get the start it was hoping for in either of its two boys basketball games on Wednesday, but the Jets recovered in time to win both and earn a spot in Thursday night’s Edinburgh Tournament championship.
Hauser rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to pull out a 50-46 first-round win against Borden. Then Wednesday evening, the Jets fell behind 16-2 before rallying for a 68-50 semifinal win against Austin.
“Even after a slow start, we found a way to rally and come back,” Hauser coach Trent Moorhead said. “A coach never wants to start that way, but we are fourtunate to have a team that is mature enough to handle a slow start and not let that deter the rest of the game. We’ve had that a couple times this year where we’ve showed some resolve to come back after a bad start.”
After falling behind Austin 16-2, the Jets ran off 17 consecutive points. They led 23-22 with two minutes left in the first half when Ledger Gelfius went on a personal 11-2 run against the Eagles (3-6) that extended into the second half.
“We had a game earlier, and we rested like four hours and we didn’t come out very well, but we responded really well and our teammates all contributed to that,” Gelfius said. “It was a good response from the team. Me and (fellow junior Taeshaun Tungate) weren’t coming up at the defensive end like we needed, and I’m glad that our bench players could come out with that, and we could respond and get going.”
Gelfius finished with 13 points to lead four Hauser players in double figures. Tungate, Gavin Keller and Kam Blair all added 12.
In the afternoon game, the Jets trailed Borden 31-26 at halftime before holding the Braves (7-3) to 15 points in the second half.
“That’s a really good team,” Moorhead said. “Borden is a talented team. They’re really well coached. They have one of the premier scorers in 1A in Kasym Nash. That’s one ypu’re going to look back on at the end of the year and see what Borden’s record was and realize how good of a team they are.”
Gelfius led Hauser with 14 points. Tungate and Stryker Gill each scored 11, and Blair added eight.
“We had really balanced scoring in both games today, and that’s kind of been a staple of our team,” Moorhead said. “The depth and skill of so many guys on our team is what makes us a competitive team and a team that’s hard to defend because we have so many guys capable of not only scoring, but defending, as well.”
The Jets will face Jac-Cen-Del, which beat host Edinburgh 53-33 in the second semifinal, in tonight’s title game at 8 p.m.
“We’ll have to be ready to play,” Moorhead said. “It’s never easy. We’ll be ready to go, and we’re excited to compete for some nets.”
Hauser 50, Borden 46
Hauser;12;14;16;8;—;50
Borden;13;18;11;4;—;46
Hauser (7-1): Alex Cord 2 0-0 4, Taeshaun Tungate 5 1-2 11, Ledger Gelfius 5 1-2 14, Stryker Gill 4 2-4 11, Gavin Keller 1 0-0 2, Kam Blair 3 2-4 8, Jake Barriger 0 0-0 0, Waylon Harper 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 6-12 50.
Borden (7-3): Zander Keith 0 0-0 0, Kasym Nash 9 5-7 23, Will Baret 0 0-0 0, Garrett Schmidt 5 0-0 10, Isaac Lewis 0 0-0 0, Kylan Nash 0 0-0 0, Collson Compton 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 5-7 46.
3-point goals: Hauser 4 (Gelfius 3, Gill); Borden 3 (Missi 3).
Hauser 68, Austin 50
Austin;16;8;12;14;—;50
Hauser;13;15;16;24;—;68
Austin (3-6): Grayson Squires 1 0-0 2, Kaden White 0 0-0 0, Talan Foga 0 0-0 0, Tyler Collins 1 0-0 3, Brayden Furnish 3 0-0 7, Kolten Mayse 1 0-0 3, Brooks Swank 5 6-9 16, Xander Richie 6 0-0 13, Gavin Watts 1 0-1 2, Mason Barger 0 0-0 0, Carter Hunley 2 0-4 4. Totals: 20 6-13 50.
Hauser (8-1): Cord 3 0-0 7, Tungate 6 0-0 12, Gelfius 6 1-2 13, Gill 2 0-0 6, Keller 6 0-1 12, Blair 5 2-2 12, Barriger 1 0-0 2, Tyler Diewert 0 0-0 0, Bill Miller 1 0-0 2, Harper 0 0-0 0, Jentzen Bechtel 0 0-0 0, RJ Foster 0 2-2 2. Totals: 30 5-6 68.
3-point goals: Austin 4 (Collins, Furnish, Mayse, Richie); Hauser 3 (Gill 2, Cord).
