NEW ALBANY —
The New Albany boys’ basketball squad hasn’t dropped too many games at The Doghouse during coach Jim Shannon’s tenure, but sometimes when it happens, the 14th-year Bulldogs head coach has learned to turn the page quickly.
“We’re just going to try and forget this one,” Shannon said after New Albany’s (8-5) 61-47 loss to Evansville North Friday. “I thought we got off to a good start in the first quarter, but after that, we were lethargic, we didn’t attack their zone, we couldn’t score — and when we had to chase them, their athleticism really hurt us.”
The Bulldogs took a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter behind a layup from reserve center Louis Donastorg, who scored off a nice feed from senior guard A.J. Schmidt with 20 seconds remaining in the first frame.
A short jumper by New Albany’s Drew King made the score 18-11 at the open of the second quarter, and the Bulldogs led 20-13 moments later after another inside bucket from Donastorg.
The Huskies would outscore New Albany 8-0 over the next 90 seconds to capture the lead behind three-pointers from Ty Pauley and Jay’von Gilmore and a dribble-drive and layup from Jaylen Chambers.
Over the remaining five minutes in the first half, there would be two ties and three lead changes, but a 17-foot jumper from Chambers with a minute left would give Evansville North a 25-24 lead, which they would carry into halftime.
Evansville North did major damage to the hosts over a three-minute span to close out the third quarter, where they outscored New Albany 13-3. During that time, guards Ty Pauley and Chambers forced four turnovers and scored four baskets in transition, and the Huskies led at the end of three 50-39.
Evansville North extended their lead to 55-39 after Chambers, who led all scorers with 18 points, nailed a three-pointer with 4:30 left in the contest. From there, the Huskies were able to coast to the win.
The starting backcourt of Pauley, Chambers and Drew Watters combined for 42 points for Evansville North. New Albany’s leading scorer, A.J. Schmidt, was held to only eight points, well off his average of just over 15 points per contest.
The Bulldogs also lost the turnover battle, 16-11 to the Huskies.
“They played really well, and we just didn’t seem to have an answer for them,” Shannon said of the Huskies’ backcourt. “And when you can’t score, that puts a lot of pressure on your defense. You have to try and create points off your defense, and they handled our pressure well enough that we weren’t able to do that.”
The Bulldogs have no time to reflect on the loss, as Jasper (7-4) invades the Doghouse tonight.
EV. NORTH 11 14 25 11—61
NEW ALBANY 16 8 15 8—47
Evansville North (7-6) — Johnson 10, Underwood 4, Chambers 18, Watters 11, Pauley 13, Gilmore 5.
New Albany (8-5) — Arnold 7, McBirth 10, Edwards 2, A. Schmidt 8, Parrish 12, Donastorg 6, King 2, Peavler 0, B. Schmidt 0, Stubbins 0.
Rebounds — Evansvile North 23 (Underwood 8); New Albany 21 (Edwards 6).
3-point field goals — Evansville North 5 (Chambers 3, Pauley, Gilmore); New Albany 5 (McBirth 2, Arnold, A. Schmidt, Parrish).
Free throws — Evansville North 10-11; New Albany 8-8.
Turnovers — Evansville North 11; New Albany 16.
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