Indian Creek junior Jared DeHart was perfect from the free throw line in overtime, hitting on all six of his attempts, to help host Indian Creek stop Hauser, 79-73, on Saturday night.
“This is Jared’s kind of game,” said Indian Creek coach Derek Perry. “When it’s on the line, get him the ball.”
While DeHart was the hero of overtime, it was senior teammate Tim Abel and his career-high 43 points (16 in the fourth quarter) that were responsible for helping the Braves get to that point.
Indian Creek outscored the Jets 14-8 in overtime.
Abel was four points shy of the school record and took some of the luster off a good shooting night by the Jets, who had four players in double figures, led by senior Connor Wilson’s 23 points.
Unfortunately for the Jets, they picked the wrong time to go cold.
“It all came down to we didn’t hit our shots in overtime and they did,” Hauser coach Griff Roth said. “But we have to give credit to (Abel), who hit his. They are a good team.”
It was a fast-paced first half, as each side pushed the ball down the court as fast as it could without really setting up plays.
The result at times resembled a schoolyard pickup game, with a lot of jostling around under the baskets. The referees were letting them play, though, as only six fouls (three on each team) were called in the half.
“When we press, we try to do that and that’s get the ball down fast,” Roth said. “I thought we played really hard.”
With both teams tied at the half at 37, one could sense this game was going to go down to the wire and after a slower third quarter, players started picking it up in the fourth — especially Abel.
Abel hit four field goals (two of them three-pointers) and had six free throws in the quarter. He also hit a pair in overtime, when DeHart stepped to the fore.
The junior ended the game with 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Besides Wilson, Hauser (13-9) was led by Justin Compton with 21 points. Big 6-7 junior center Alex Gross had 16 points, including the game-tying shot to send the game into overtime, and Mason Sherman added 10.
On Tuesday, Indian Creek (13-8) travels to Greenwood in an attempt to avenge a Johnson County tournament defeat earlier this season.
