Jets Land Short in the Final Four

To say Saturday was a rollercoaster ride of emotions would be an understatement. Hauser traveled two hours to The Hatchet House in Washington Indiana, for the 1A South basketball Semi-State. Jet Nation knew the season would be ending soon, but were hoping the journey would last one week longer in Indianapolis.

Game one in the morning, went to Bar Reeve with a two-point win over Liberty Christian. The second game Hauser battled Bloomfield. The Jets led at every stop in the game; 15-9 – 1st quarter, 27-17 at halftime, 42-32 – 3rd quarter, and finished with a final score of 54-40.

The Cardinals threw several different defensive looks at Hauser, starting out in man to man, and followed up with a 2-3 zone. They came out in a 1-3-1 half court trap, but that didn’t last long after a few passes and a Gavin Keller driving dunk from the baseline. Bloomfield went back with man to man the remainder of the game.

Hauser Scoring: Gavin Keller 21, Stryker Gill 16, Kam Blair 11, Joel Bechtel 4, and RJ Foster 2.

Hauser Rebounding: Blair 9, Bechtel 6, Gill 5, and Foster 3.

The win sent Hauser to the Final 4 for the first time since 2006 when they won their first and only Boys 1A State Championship. Going into the game both teams had matching season wins at 26, but Hauser had one more loss. Most would say this game had the top two 1A teams squaring off.

The Hatchet house was about three quarters full at game time. Jet fans showed up with a large number of fans despite having to drive over two hours. Bar Reeve had the luxury of a 13-minute drive and probably felt like a home game having also played in the Regional a week earlier. Liberty Christian’s trip to Washington was 155 miles, over 2.5 hours away. The Vikings jumped out to an early lead, but the Jets didn’t fly away easily.

Despite not shooting well, the Vikings shooting lights out, and what many thought was some controversial officiating, the Jets were still in the game. This Jets team had heart, fight, and the refuse to lose attitude. Something they have had since playing travel basketball in elementary.

Hauser tied the game several times late in the game, but were unable to ever take a lead. The game ended in a final score of Bar Reeve 54, Hauser 47.

Hauser Scoring: Gill 14, Bechtel 11, Keller 10, Blair 9, and Harper 3.

It was an emotional loss for the players, coaches, parents, and fans as the team came out of the locker room. Many Hauser hugs were given out. There’s something about being a close-knit community when everyone comes together to support student athletes. It was great to be there with my personal family and my Hauser family.

With this being the last story of the basketball season, I’d like to throw out some kudos to several that come to mind.

Coach Trent Moorehead in his fourth year has put Hauser basketball back on the map. 79 wins and 27 losses. If you think about it, four of those were season ending losses in the tournaments. His personality and demeanor is exactly what the program needed. One aspect that seems the most important to me is consistency. During my son Landon’s career, he had a different coach all four years. It’s difficult for players to adjust to a new coach every season in high school. Thank you, Coach!

The early years, these young men were assembled to play travel basketball in kindergarten/first grade years by Aubrie Gill. Having coached at Hauser at the Jr. High and High School for the girls’ program, Aubrie volunteered her personal time to teach fundamentals and get this group started.

Player wise, there are the top three in no particular order.

Kam Blair may be the most improved player since his freshman year. Once he started believing in himself, he blossomed into a utility player that could play all five positions at any time of the game. He could handle the ball, pass, score, and rebound. Career totals: 761 points, 496 rebounds, 206 assists, 99 steals, and 31 blocked shots.

Gavin Keller was a scoring machine with 508 points this season. He turned up defensively this season as well. By far the best dunker on the team bringing Jet fans out of their seats. Gavin was the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 points. Career totals: 1,161 points, 378 rebounds, 218 assists, and 86 steals, and 18 blocked shots.

Stryker Gill may be one of the best all-round players in school history. His vision and court awareness allowed him to get the ball distributed where and when it needed to be. Scoring wise, he was the 12^th players to reach 1,000 points. What a coincidence he wore number 12. Until someone is able provide career stats from former players, the numbers speak for themselves. Career totals: 1,055 points, 433 rebounds, 631 assists, 233 steals, and 32 blocked shots.

The team will have to say good-bye to eight seniors: Jake Barriger, Kam Blair, Tyler Deiwert, RJ Foster, Stryker Gill, Waylon Harper, Gavin Keller, and Bill Miller. Thank you for all the hard work on and off the court.