By KEVIN HARRIS
BLOOMINGTON — On Friday night at Tom McKinney Court, the New Albany boys’ basketball team defeated Bloomington North for the fifth consecutive year in its regular-season finale, 68-57.
Along with the victory, the Class 4A No. 2 Bulldogs got something every team wants entering the postseason – momentum.
“We came in wanting to play good and then move forward,” New Albany 6-foot-8 center Donnie Hale said. “We hope we can continue to do it in the tournament.”
The Bulldogs received a first-round bye in next week’s Class 4A Seymour Sectional. They will face either Floyd Central or Jennings County in the second semifinal at about 7:30 p.m. next Friday.
New Albany head coach Jim Shannon is happy his players got the bye, as they will vie for their fourth consecutive sectional crown next week.
“It gives us several games to prepare for a Friday game,” Shannon said about the bye. “(Friday’s win) gives us some momentum to catapult us into the tournament.”
Hale posted four double-doubles with a game-high 26 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Hale scored 15 points in the fourth quarter as he benefited from the Cougars (13-7) switching to a man-to-man defense from a 2-3 zone. When North played zone in the first three quarters, it put two men on Hale along the baseline to try to keep him in check.
“When they went to man-to-man, it put me in one-on-one situations down low and I wanted to take advantage of that,” Hale said.
The Purdue signee also had a productive night at the free-throw line, making 14 of his 19 attempts (74 percent). Heading into the contest, Hale was shooting 59 percent from the stripe.
Hale feels he is improving from the foul line as of late, saying “It has helped with my confidence.”
The Bulldogs (18-2) forced the Cougars out of their zone thanks to a hot night from behind the 3-point arc. New Albany connected on 11-of-18 from 3-point land, including 11-of-16 in the first three periods.
Junior Chris Whitehead was the hottest Bulldog shooter, hitting 4-of-5 from downtown in scoring 15 points. Junior reserve Adam Stotts nailed three 3-pointers to tally 11 points. Teammates Jordy Martin and Tate Rohlfing each hit a pair of treys to score eight and six points, respectively.
“We shot the ball really well,” Shannon said. “We got a lift from our perimeter shooters and everybody chimed in. That opened things up for Donnie. He just had a field day in there.”
In his final regular-season game at North, senior guard Julian Boatner poured in a team-high 19 points. At the 4:16 mark of the fourth quarter, Boatner nailed a 3-pointer to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier in his career. Officials stopped the game at the point, so Boatner could be presented the ball he reached the century milestone with.
NEW ALBANY 15 14 19 20—68
BL. NORTH 19 9 14 15—57
New Albany (18-2) — Toliver 2, Whitehead 15, Benson 0, Martin 8, Newbolt 0, Stotts 11, Rohlfing 6, Hale 26, McDaniel 0.
Bloomington North (13-7) — Da. Brown 9, Boatner 19, Ballman 8, D.J. Brown 2, Basye 3, Pittman 6, Sheldon 0, Stanger 10.
3-point field goals — New Albany 11 (Whitehead 4, Martin 2, Stotts 3, Rohlfing 2); Bloomington North 9 (Da. Brown, Boatner 3, Ballman 2, Basye, Stanger 2).
Rebounds — New Albany 28 (Hale 13); Bloomington North 17 (Pittman 3).
Turnovers — New Albany 9, Bloomington North 8.
