By Cary Stemle
There was an element of “same old, same old” to New Albany’s 112-43 win over visiting Evansville North on Friday night. Romeo Langford poured in 38 points, including a dunk that coach Jim Shannon called the most impressive he’s ever seen his star throw down. Nothing too surprising there.
There also was a rare light moment when Shannon subbed for Langford at the 3:33 mark. With Kansas coach Bill Self still ensconced three rows behind the New Albany bench, the crowd broke into an IU chant, which left Self grinning and, it seemed, blushing. Langford, of course, remains undecided between Self’s Kansas squad, Indiana and Vanderbilt. (Anecdotally, it seems IU gear is becoming increasingly common amongst the New Albany faithful as the year goes on.)
After some recent grinders, Class 4A No. 3 New Albany (14-1) had an easier go. North (6-9) was outmanned from the jump, and an unfettered Langford is especially lethal. He scored from deep, from mid-range, on drives and up close, including a handful of putback dunks. The highlight jam came as Chris Johnson led a second-half fast break and left a lob as Langford streaked down the lane, then reached back halfway to the foul line to corral the pass and ram the ball home with one hand, prompting a sustained crowd buzz.
(Video by Inside The Hall’s Alex Bozich)
Junior Derrick Stevenson scored 16 points and Sean East, who was a bit under the weather, added 14. Julien Hunter’s 10 points all came in the second half. Sixth man Darin Starks had 9 and starting center Trey Hourigan added 6 points.
Shannon went deeper into his bench, with Johnson (6 points) and Savion Southers (4 points) seeing extended minutes.
The coach thought his team came out a bit flat on defense but quickly got in a groove. “We want to try to get better,” he said. “We want to be on our toes, not our heels and we want to push forward. We don’t want to take a step back, and I don’t feel like we did.”
One other thing we haven’t seen all year: a gaggle of players from the visiting team, dressed in green-and-black sweats and giggling like the kids they are, waiting outside the New Albany locker room for Langford’s autograph. Everyone, it seems, wants to cement their personal Romeo moment. You can’t really blame them.
