Ledger Gelfius
HOPE — Hauser’s defense did the job against usually-potent perimeter arsenal of Southwestern (Hanover) Saturday night.
Unfortunately for the Jets, the Class 2A No. 4 Rebels did their damage from a spot where Hauser couldn’t defend — the free-throw line. Southwestern went 20 of 23 from the line, hitting their final 14 free throws over the final 3:11 to pull away for a 59-52 boys basketball victory.
“That shows you what a good team is,” Hauser coach Trent Moorhead said. “They’re battle tested. They’ve been through a lot, and they know how to close a game out.”
The Jets (10-2) trailed by as many as seven points in the first half before chipping away at the deficit and taking a 34-32 lead on a basket by Ledger Gelfius with 1:40 left in the third quarter. But the Rebels (12-2) then went on an 8-0 run to go back up by six.
Hauser got back to within 45-44 with 3:27 left in the game before Southwestern went on its free-throw barrage.
“We know they’re highly ranked, but we’re confident in ourselves with the work we’ve put in,” Moorhead said. “Our mentality was to go out and expect to win that game and play hard and compete the entire time, which I thought we did. You just have to give credit to Southwestern. They made plays down the stretch, where we just came up a little short, and against really good teams, it comes down to possessions, and they did a great job of closing the game out, made free throws when they had to and handled the ball really well in the fourth quarter.”
The Jets did limit the Rebels to 3-16 shooting from 3-point range.
“They always have at least four talented shooters on the floor at all times,” Moorhead said. “So we talked before the game about being able to shot challenge and contest those 3-point shots and then win the rebounds, which a lot of times we did tonight. It’s unfortunate that the one or two we don’t get on those long rebounds usually is what ends up costing you in the end.”
Hauser won the battle of the boards 25-24, led by Kam Blair with 10 rebounds. Gelfius finished with a game-high 22 points, while Gavin Keller came off the bench to add nine.
“I was proud of the way our kids fought the whole time,” Moorhead said. “We had the mentality we were going to go in and battle and show what kind of team we were. We did that tonight, and we talked about it in the locker room — you either win, or you learn, and this is a great learning opportunity for us tonight to see where we’re at and to get better as we prepare for the second half of the season.”
Southwestern (Hanover) 59, Hauser 52
Southwestern;16;4;18;21;—;59
Hauser;9;7;18;18;—;52
Southwestern (12-2): Jackson Taylor 3 0-0 7, Adam Traylor 0 2-2 2, Peyton Cloud 2 10-10 15, Braxton Lewis 0 0-0 0, Brady Cook 4 0-2 9, Jamison Lewis 4 5-6 13, Landon Kidwell 5 3-3 13. Totals: 18 20-23 59.
Hauser (10-2): Alex Cord 2 1-2 5, Taeshaun Tungate 1 0-0 2, Ledger Gelfius 8 3-5 22, Stryker Gill 2 0-0 6, Gavin Keller 4 1-2 9, Kam Blair 2 2-2 6, Jake Barriger 1 0-0 2.. Totals: 20 7-11 52.
3-point goals: Southwestern 3 (Taylor, Cloud, Cook); Hauser 5 (Gelfius 3, Gill 2).
