COLUMBUS — In the preseason, New Albany’s Donnie Hale and TeNale Roland were considered one of the best inside-outside combinations in Indiana.

On Friday night at The Orange Pit, they showed why.

Both players combined to score 53 points to lead the Bulldogs past host Columbus East, 71-61. Hale recorded a double-double with career highs in points (29) and rebounds (18). The 6-foot-7 junior shot 13-of-17 from the field and tallied 13 of his 29 points in the second quarter.

“He was active. I thought that he really played well,” New Albany head coach Jim Shannon said. “I thought that he moved his feet well, had his hands above his head all the time and his arms up. As long as he is (in stature), that’s going to pay dividends for him and certainly for our team.”

Meanwhile, Roland posted his own career high in scoring for the second consecutive game with 24 points. Roland did most of his damage from behind the 3-point arc, sinking 4-of-8 treys. He scored 13 points in the third, where he hit three trifectas over East’s zone defense.

“Early in the game, they really sagged (on defense) and I think it threw us off a little bit. It was like, ‘Do you really want me to step out here and shoot it?’” Shannon said. “I think he decided at halftime, ‘By golly that’s what I’ll do.’ He just started taking it upon himself to really start getting after it. He had a great second half and he had a great game.”

Leading 35-27 at halftime, the Bulldogs (2-0, 2-0 Hoosier Hills Conference) started the second half on fire. They went on a 9-2 run to up their lead to 44-29, and the advantage grew to as high as 20 points in the stanza. For the quarter, New Albany outscored the Olympians (1-1, 0-1) 23-14 to take a 58-41 lead at the end of three.

“We took off on them pretty quick in the third quarter,” Shannon said. “We built that big lead and we felt pretty comfortable.”

Hale and Roland were not the only players who drew praise from Shannon. He lauded the defense of junior Tate Rohlfing and the inside play of 6-5 senior Brett Martin, who grabbed seven rebounds.

“I thought the one-two punch of Hale and Roland really carried us tonight offensively,” Shannon said. “But we had some other kids step up and play really well. Tate Rohlfing really got after it on the defensive end, which is the end we’re trying to get him to play. Once he picks up that part of it, his offense will come around.

“Our guard play was fantastic tonight. Chris Whitehead and Jordy Martin did a great job of handling the ball and getting it to the right person at the right time. Brett Martin did a nice job on the boards and that really helps take some of that pressure off Donnie because Brett’s got some size, too.”

New Albany was playing its second straight road game and will have four away games in a row after hosting Floyd Central next Friday and Corydon next Saturday. Shannon thinks playing contests on the road early in the season should benefit the Bulldogs in the not-so-distant future.

“You always have to find a positive,” Shannon said. “Whenever you’re on the road, you have to look at it like we may not be playing as well as we’re capable of. But nonetheless, it gets you ready for games later in the season and it helps you grow up a lot quicker.

“If you can get through it and win them, it’s great. If you can’t, then you rather be playing at home.”

New Albany extended its regular-season winning streak to 25 games. Senior Ryan Crase led East with 28 points, shooting 10-of-20 from the field and 4-of-10 from 3-point range.



NEW ALBANY 16 19 23 13-71

COLUMBUS EAST 11 16 14 20-61

New Albany (2-0, 2-0) — Hale 29, Roland 24, Whitehead 5, J. Martin 4, McDaniel 4, B. Martin 2, Rohlfing 2, Benson 1, Klein 0, Winburn 0.

Columbus East (1-1, 0-1) — Crase 28, Ringo 12, Whitted 11, McDonald 6, Kelley 2, King 2, Miller 0, Renshaw 0.

Three-point field goals — New Albany 5 (Roland 4, Whitehead); Columbus East 7 (Crase 4, McDonald 2, Whitted).

Rebounds — New Albany 37 (Hale 18); Columbus East 24 (King 9).

Turnovers — New Albany 12, Columbus East 8.

Junior varsity score — New Albany 56, Columbus East 25.