THURSDAY, DEC. 28 / Evansville Central High School
New Albany 62 — Evansville Central 56
Consider the scenario: A frigid Thursday night, three days after Christmas. A long bus ride to Evansville. No Romeo Langford.
Playing without their leader, who’d dislocated his right index finger just the night before while dunking during practice, the Class 4A No. 3 Bulldogs got off to a good start, forcing seven first-quarter turnovers en route to a23-10 lead that eventually grew to 44-28 at the half.
The Dogs’ early intensity eventually proved elusive, and the Bears were the more energetic team after the break that ended with New Albany ahead 44-28. The lead was down to four points by the end of three, and Malcolm DePriest’s basket tied the score at 56 with just more than four minutes left in the game.
As they’ve done all season when protecting late leads, the Bulldogs responded. A steal by New Albany senior guard Sean East led to a Julien Hunter putback and a 58-56 lead at the 2:03 mark. East made three of four free throws down the stretch and junior guard Derrick Stevenson made 1 of 2 to close out the scoring.
TAKE-AWAYS: With Langford’s injury and late scratch, it was an odd game. The gym wasn’t full — according to the Evansville Courier & Press, local fans arrived early to score good seats but left when they learned Langford was out. They were particularly disappointed because it was their only shot at seeing Langford in town this season, and some took to Twitter to complain.
Although Central is only moderately talented, holding off the Bears and getting out of town with a win had to bring a feeling of relief to New Albany coach Jim Shannon, if not quite joy.
Next up, of course, is a Jan. 5 game against the No. 12 4A Jeffersonville Red Devils (6-0), who haven’t played since winning 75-64 at Evansville Memorial on Dec. 18. The annual post-holiday rivalry game is at New Albany. The Bulldogs won last season at Jeff.
NEW ALBANY (8-1): Starks 10, East 27, Stevenson 5, Hunter 7, Hourigan 13.
CENTRAL (1-6): DePriest 16, White 16, Wedding 11, Glaser 3, Jones 6, Mills 4.
3-point goals: New Albany 3 (Starks, East, Stevenson), Evansville Central 7 (DePriest 4, White 2, Glaser).
JV: Evansville Central 30, New Albany 27
