BOYS BASKETBALL
SHS hosts Semistate games, State finals match ups set
New Albany star Romeo Langford saw his high school career come to an end on a buzzer-beater in the Seymour Semistate.
With 4.6 seconds left, Warren Central junior David Bell went the length of the court and hit a runner from 13-feet at the horn to lift the Warriors past the Bulldogs 64-62 at a near capacity Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (25-2) led 18-12 by the end of the first quarter, with Langford recording the team’s first 10 points.
NAHS held on to the lead, 30-25, at halftime and bolstered its advantage to 43-37 by the end of three quarters.
The Warriors battled back to tie the game, with a minute left, but the Bulldogs had the ball.
Langford was double teamed at the top of the arc, and turned the ball over to give the Warriors the final shot.
Bell then capitalized to punch the Warriors’ ticket to state.
Bell led the Warriors with 17 points and Langford topped all scorers with 35.
Langford finished his career with 3,002 points, placing him fourth all-time in state scoring. The senior is just the fourth player to plateau 3,000 points for a career in Indiana, with just Deshaun Thomas (3,018), Marion Pierce (3,019) and Damon Bailey (3,134) scoring more points.
Warren Central (31-0) will face Carmel (21-7) in the Class 4A State Championship game on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
If the Warriors win, they will become the first team to finish with 32 wins in a season.
In the early game at SHS, a battle between Class A schools, Morristown defeated Barr-Reeve 77-70.
The teams tied at 30 at halftime, and going into the final eight minutes, Morristown led 51-50.
Nine points in the fourth quarter by Morristown’s Eli Streeval, who finished with 15, helped guarantee the win.
Hayden Langkabel led Morristown with 27 points, including 21 in the second half, and four players scored in double-figures for Barr-Reeve.
Morristown (27-2) will make its first state finals appearance on Saturday when they take on Southwood (25-3) at 10:30 a.m.
Other state finals matchups will include Class 2A’s Forest Park (26-4) versus Oak Hill (25-2) at 12:45 p.m. and Evansville Bosse (25-4) against Culver Academies (22-6) at 6 p.m.
Admission per session is $15, or $30 for all four games, and can be ordered on the IHSAA website. Class A and 2A will make up the first session while 3A and 4A are the late games.
All four games will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Indiana.