NEW ALBANY
New Albany’s boys basketball team is a buzzsaw that can shred teams apart on either end of the hardwood.
The Class 4A No. 4 Bulldogs scored 45 second half points, while forcing 24 turnovers, en route to a 76-33 Hoosier Hills Conference victory in front of 4,102 fans — a packed house — Friday evening.
In the first quarter, neither team could find the bottom of the basket.
The Owls (2-3, 0-2 HHC) opened the scoring with an and-one by Tiller Cummings before the Bulldogs (5-1, 1-1 HHC) scored six straight behind three different scorers.
A basket by Alan Perry cut the Owls’ deficit to one before Romeo Langford hit a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs an 8-5 lead after eight minutes of play.
“Defensively, we wanted them to guess what we were in,” Owls coach Tyler Phillips said. “About half the quarter, we kept them guessing. That first quarter, really all night, our kids played hard. That first quarter we had an emphasis of keeping them off the glass and we did.”
The Bulldogs’ offense caught fire in the second quarter, as they outscored the Owls 23-12 before the half.
Following a score by Perry, the Bulldogs scored 11 unanswered to lead 20-7 with 4:06 on the clock.
Ty McCory and Max Otte each hit 3-pointers, but the Owls trailed 22-13 by the 3:09-marik.
The Bulldogs went on a 6-0 scoring streak in the final 55 seconds of the half, with Sean East managing a pair of layups and Langford finishing an alley-oop with a dunk at the rim.
At the break, the Owls trailed 31-17. Langford led all scorers with 12 points and Perry had six for the Owls.
The Bulldogs’ offense kept pace in the second half, as they would outscore the Owls 45-16.
Julien Hunter scored on an alley-oop dunk on the Bulldogs’ first possession, which would propel the team to a an 11-2 run by the 5:25-mark in the third quarter.
Langford went on a tear in the third, scoring 11 points, and the Bulldogs led 55-29 after 24 minutes of play.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs held the Owls to just four points.
The Bulldogs hit four 3-pointers before the final buzzer to hold on for the win.
Langford led the Bulldogs with 29 points, and Sean East and Darin Starks each scored 10.
The Bulldogs won the rebounding margin 27-18 and had just four turnovers to the Owls’ 24 giveaways.
Phillips said the Bulldogs’ defense is top-tier.
“They use their athleticism really well and pressure the ball,” he said. “They have three or four defenses that are really effective. Any points you get against them, you’re going to earn it. What little we got tonight, I think we earned it.”
With his 29 points, Langford moved to 14th all-time — past Austin’s Anthony Winchester — in Indiana high school basketball history for career scoring. Langford now has 2,284 points for a career.
Bedford North Lawrence’s Damon Bailey holds the state record with 3,1,34 points for a career.
“We played hard,” Phillips said. “My kids weren’t scared or intimidated. For 32 minutes, I thought they played hard and with a purpose. If we continue doing that we will have a chance to be successful.”
The Owls will host Jennings County tonight following the inaugural Seymour Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony. The induction is set to take place after the junior varsity game, which begins at 5:30 p.m.