NEW ALBANY —
Host New Albany jumped out to a 17-2 lead against visiting Silver Creek on Friday in the Doghouse, and that cushion provided the Bulldogs all the breathing room they needed as the hosts cruised to a 60-37 win.
It was the Bulldogs third win in a row after dropping consecutive games to 4A teams Evansville Reitz, Castle and Jeffersonville in late December. New Albany coach Jim Shannon said the latest three wins, which came against Madison, Scottsburg and Silver Creek — 3A opponents all — are something to build off of.
But the jury is still out on his squad, he admits.
“You can’t get too low in defeats, and you can’t get too high when you win,” Shannon said. “When you’re winning, you got to take a look at who you’re beating and when you’re losing you got to take a look at who you’re losing to.
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that we’re losing to really powerful teams. These three wins we have going now, they’re something to build off of, but we’re not going to get slap-happy.”
In building the 17-2 lead over the Dragons (3-10), sophomore guard Jeff Byrne scored eight points on two 3-pointers and a put-back. Center Anthony Edwards, who led the Bulldogs with 14 points, punctuated the run with a dunk at 2:19 left in the first quarter.
“It definitely wasn’t the start we were looking for,” Silver Creek coach Brandon Hoffman said. “We came in hoping they wouldn’t shoot well, and as it happened that was the opposite. Give them credit: they came out lights out.”
New Albany led 30-14 at the half and 34-16 after Edwards threw down another dunk with under 7 minutes left in the third quarter. But Silver Creek’s fullcourt pressure rattled New Albany into three turnovers and resulted in a 9-0 Dragons run that was capped by a steal and basket by Zach Davidson that cut the margin to 34-25 with 3:49 remaining in the third quarter.
“We get in the habit of when things go good, we get caught up in the moment and try and do too much,” Hoffman said. “I was really proud of our effort. I think we came back and almost battled them evenly in the second half. We just, mentally, keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”
After the Davidson basket, Shannon called a 30-second timeout to rally his troops. That they did, scoring the next nine points, with Garrett Arnold capping the run for New Albany with a 3-pointer that made the score 43-25 with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter.
“I don’t think anybody that would have called a timeout at that point is a genius; that just stopped the momentum of what was going on,” Shannon said. “I don’t know if we made any miracle adjustments, other than realizing that we weren’t playing hard all of a sudden.”
New Albany was without second-leading scorer Dre McBirth for the third game. McBirth injured his wrist in the win over Madison last Friday night, but Shannon expects him back for play next week.
Arnold also added 14 points for New Albany. Bauer and Brooks Howell led the Dragons with 11 points apiece.
The Bulldogs travel to Evansville North to face the Huskies Friday night. Silver Creek hosts Providence Tuesday night.
Floyd County Sports
Related Photos
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New Albany's Garrett Arnold pulls down a rebound Friday night against visiting Silver Creek. The Bulldogs downed the Dragons 60-37 at the Doghouse. Photo by Joe Ullrich
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New Albany's Garrett Arnold scores inside Friday night against visiting Silver Creek. The Bulldogs tamed the Dragons 60-37 at the Doghouse. Photo by Joe Ullrich
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Silver Creek's Lucas Barnett handles the guard duties Friday night at the Doghouse. The Bulldogs beat Silver Creek 60-37. Photo by Joe Ullrich
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Silver Creek's Sam Garr fights inside for a rebound Friday night at New Albany. The Dragons were defeated by New Albany 60-37 at the Doghouse. Photo by Joe Ullrich
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New Albany senior Anthony Edwards rises above the Dragon defense to score Friday night at the Doghouse. The Bulldogs beat the visiting Dragons 60-37. Photo by Joe Ullrich
Discussion
H.S. BOYS' BASKETBALL: Dogs open with 17-2 run, beat Dragons 60-37
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Jeff Thompson (Louisville baseball, Floyd Central graduate, Jr.) — top performance: winning pitcher in a starting role in the Cardinals’ 12-4 home victory over Pittsburgh on Friday, seven innings pitched, three runs allowed (all earned), three hits, seven strikeouts, three walks; notes: Thompson became the sixth pitcher in U of L history to earn 10 or more victories in a season on Friday; he is one win away from tying the school record for most victories in a season; Friday’s win clinched the Cardinals a share of the Big East Conference championship; they claimed the outright conference title on Saturday with a 7-4 home triumph over the Panthers; team records: 46-10 overall, 20-4 Big East; Thompson’s record: 10-1. -
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