Amarillo High guard Brendan Hausen sinks a jumper for his 2,000th career point during a District 3-5A game against Tascosa on Friday night at the AHS Activity Center. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
Friday night at the Amarillo High Activity Center provided a perfect marker for where the Amarillo High Sandies stand – and have stood – for the past three seasons.
All the elements converged in one place as the Sandies, ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 5A, ended the first half of District 3-5A play by hosting crosstown rival Tascosa to secure not only bragging rights but the undisputed district lead to stay unbeaten. And senior Brendan Hausen had some business to take care of as well.
Needing five points to reach the 2,000-point career mark, Hausen did it quickly as the night belonged to him and the Sandies, the way it’s seemed to for at least three years. Hausen got his points and a whole lot more, as Amarillo High dominated and was never threatened by Tascosa in a 66-39 victory.
It was a fairly typical performance for Amarillo High (23-6, 5-0 in district) and Hausen, who both have state championship aspirations. Hausen’s milestone was fairly inevitable from the get-go.
“I was just coming out and doing what I was supposed to do,” said Hausen, who scored all of his 15 points in the first half. “Everybody was talking about it but it wasn’t ever my main focus. It was a great milestone, but coming out here and getting the win, that was the part.”
The only real suspense seemed to be when Hausen, who has signed with Villanova, would reach the 2,000 milestone. It didn’t take long, as it came, naturally, on a 3-pointer midway through the first quarter. By that time, the Sandies had already established their supremacy on the night.
Amarillo High led 21-3 at the end of the first quarter and kept rolling in the second quarter en route to a 48-11 halftime lead.
Hausen leads a group of four-year starters which includes 6-foot-11 post Cade Hornecker and Damonze Woods. Their chemistry was apparent again against Tascosa (10-13, 2-3), but Hausen has generally been the one to make things go, and AHS coach Jason Pillion was predictably effusive in his praise of him.
“Lucky, blessed, all the things you could say,” Pillion said of coaching Hausen for four years. “I can’t say enough nice things. He’s a great player. He’s a better kid. He’s a great leader with his teammates. When you need a bucket, he looks for opportunities. It makes the offense better when you’ve got a guy who can just go get a bucket when you need a bucket.”
Hausen’s game wasn’t particularly special when looking at his body of work at Amarillo High. He hit only three shots from the field and made 7-of-10 free throws to account for his points.
Still, it was representative of his career, as he was the leading scorer in yet another game the Sandies won. It only showed just how special his career has been among his Panhandle contemporaries.
“A lot of things that I wrote down on a piece of paper and stuck in my wallet when I was a freshman, I have accomplished,” Hausen said. “The last thing to do would be to get a state championship. I’m still chasing that and it’s one of the five things. I think that we’ve got a chance this year.”
Amarillo High’s dominance in the first half was an indication of what the Sandies are capable of when they come out strong. With such a big lead, they were able to coast in the second half.
“I thought our kids did a good job of controlling their emotions in a rivalry game,” Pillion said. “Sometimes that can kind of get your head spinning and you don’t always make good decisions. I thought for the first half we did some of that. We defended well and offensively did enough good stuff to move the ball to the right places and make plays.”
Hornecker scored 15 points to share top scoring honors with Hausen for the Sandies, while Woods and Xa Landry-Britton had 10 apiece.
Tascosa never could get any continuity going offensively, especially in the first half. The Rebels struggled shooting against the Sandies, making only nine field goals.
“We played a much better second half than we did the first,” Tascosa coach Steve Jackson said. “Our guys showed some fight. That’s what we asked. It’s a rivalry game so things are going to be tough, and on top of that Amarillo High’s a great team.”
Ashraf Bashram and Jailyn Sledge scored 10 points each for the Rebels.
Tascosa 3 11 26 39
Amarillo High 21 48 56 66
T— Ashraf Bashram 10, Jailyn Sledge 10. AHS— Brendan Hausen 15, Cade Hornecker 15, Xa Landry-Britton 10, Damonze Woods 10. Records: Tascosa 10-13, 2-3. Amarillo High 23-6, 5-0.
