CLARKSVILLE — With lineup full of stars on the perimeter, no one can blame the New Albany boys’ basketball team for sometimes forgetting about the man in the middle.

So when the Bulldogs finally remembered sophomore center Donnie Hale, he delivered one of the best games of his career, going 11-of-11 from the field for 25 points and six blocked shots in New Albany’s 67-44 win over Providence at the Robert I. Larkin Center on Friday.

“We could have made things easier on ourselves, if we hadn’t forgotten about Donnie,” said New Albany coach Jim Shannon. “No one could handle him, there was just no way.”

Undersized and outgunned by the Class 4A No. 1 Bulldogs (17-0), Providence nonetheless proved something in the early going that many doubted entering the annual rivalry game — that it could play with the state’s top-ranked team at all.

The Pioneers (9-7) came out in their trademark tough defense, getting into the faces of the vastly talented New Albany starters and holding the Bulldog attack in check for much of the first quarter. The Providence offense, however, was a different story, committing seven turnovers in the first eight minutes, including two five-second violations on inbounds plays.

That was all the window that New Albany needed, taking command with 19-2 run, with all but eight of those points coming after the three-minute mark of the first frame.

“Before the game, I didn’t know how much better they were,” said Providence coach Lou Lefevre. “It could have been 60 points, 30 points or whatever. What I saw in the first four minutes is that we could play with them if we made the simple plays that I expect any group to make. We gave them 18 points.”

Perhaps with memories of last season’s stunning 40-38 upset at the hands of Providence, New Albany senior Braydon Hobbs made sure this game would turn out a lot differently. He scored nine points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer and an emphatic dunk. But he was even more devastating in the open court, adding two steals and two assists, one a lob to Hale that made it 12-4.

The New Albany center scored his team’s first four points of the second quarter to make it 23-8. Providence, meanwhile, briefly got going behind 6-foot junior Chance Clark, who showed no fear of the bruising Bulldog interior to score a team-high 12 points. Clark matched Hale basket-for-basket prior to intermission, but New Albany settled in for a 34-18 halftime lead.

“They fought hard and played good defense,” Shannon said. “We had to work for everything we got. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

The Pioneers hung with the Bulldogs for much of the third quarter, as a basket from Clark made it 44-28 midway through the period. Hale quickly added two baskets and a three-point play from Spencer Shannon pushed the New Albany lead to its largest point at 52-28.

Providence then embarked on its longest scoring run of the night, a 6-0 spurt sparked by 3s from John Hardin and Tucker Coots. Point guard Matthew Leist appeared to hit another trey at the buzzer, but it was a split-second too late and Providence entered the final period down 52-34.

The game drew a capacity crowd at the Larkin Center, split neatly in Bulldog red and Pioneer blue. It was another chapter in one of the area’s greatest rivalries, one that has heated up in recent years due to Providence’s resurgence as a basketball power.

Emotions, running high all night, finally spilled over when Hardin and New Albany’s TeNale Roland were each assessed a technical foul after getting tangled up on a play and squaring off.

“It’s a good rivalry, because Providence has been able to get us,” Shannon said. “If you win every time, it can’t be a good rivalry. But they’ve gotten us twice in my 10 years here. That’s enough for me.”

Hobbs finished with 12 points, five assists and five steals for New Albany, while Spencer Shannon added seven points and a team-high five rebounds.

Coots also had 12 points for the Pioneers, while Hardin — Providence’s leading scorer — had 10 points and a team-high four rebounds.

“(Clark) played as well as he ever has,” Lefevre said. “That’s what you hope to see in a big game. He’s in the starting lineup because I am satisfied with his progress.”

New Albany will travel to Jennings County tonight. Providence will visit South Central on Saturday.



NEW ALBANY 19 15 18 15—67

PROVIDENCE 6 12 16 10—44

New Albany (17-0) — Hobbs 12, Hale 25, Shannon 7, Roland 5, Barber 6, Lynch 7, Young 0, Rohlfing 0, Martin 2, Winburn 3.

Providence (9-7) — Hardin 10, Coots 12, Clark 12, Leist 2, J. Koetter 4, N. Koetter 4, Schellenberger 0, Schueler 0.

Three-point field goals — New Albany 3 (Hobbs, Lynch, Winburn); Providence 3 (Coots 2, Hardin).

Rebounds — New Albany 22 (Shannon 5); Providence 15 (Hardin 4).

Turnovers — New Albany 15, Providence 14.