Ten Best: Evansville Bosse at New Albany
Recap: New Albany 72 – Evansville Bosse 63 New Albany pulls away from Bosse Evansville in the 4th quarter to take 72-63 victory at home. Bosse started the game off with a quick transition three to begin play. After digging…
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Continue ReadingRecap: New Albany 72 – Evansville Bosse 63
New Albany pulls away from Bosse Evansville in the 4th quarter to take 72-63 victory at home.
Bosse started the game off with a quick transition three to begin play. After digging itself a 5-0 hole, New Albany got it going with a Romeo Langford three. Bosse then went up 10-5 until a pair of New Albany free throws tied it up. A common theme for the Bosse Bulldogs throughout were turnovers. Bosse tallied six turnovers in the 1st quarter, but were lights out from the field. They would finish the game with 22 turnovers. Both teams went back and forth in the 2nd quarter before tying it up at the half, 31-31. New Albany’s Langford and Bosse’s Mekhi Lairy were the 1st half top performers.
Bosse started off hot to begin the 2nd half, the way they did with the previous, scoring the first five points. But, Romeo Langford would answer with with back-to-back 3-pointers. Bosse would hang tough throughout the quarter as New Albany would begin to extend a lead. The 4th quarter would begin with a 52-47 New Albany advantage. Bosse would be able to swing some punches with some offensive put-backs by Javi Langley (11 points/8 rebounds) and Nicely Tsiangueberi (8 points/6 rebounds), as well as Mekhi Lairy (21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) continuing to hit shots from the field. But it would not be enough, as Isaac Hibbard (20 points) would assist Romeo Langford in extending New Albany’s lead throughout the 4th quarter. The nation’s #2 ranked 2018 prosepct, Langford would finish with 34 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
MVP: Romeo Langford, New Albany
After starting the game off a bit slow, Langford got rolling in the 2nd half, scoring 22 of his 34 after the break. Langford would go 4-5 from beyond the arc and continued to show why he is one of the top ranked players in the country.
Best Offensive Performance: Mekhi Lairy, Bosse
Lairy ended the game with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. But more importantly, as Bosse kept trying to find ways to battle New Albany, Mekhi Lairy found ways to hit shots and kept his team in the game. Lairy scored 13 of his 21 points in the 1st half. He wasn’t as effective in the 2nd, but as previously stated, when they needed him, he was there.
Best Defensive Performance: Sean East, New Albany
New Albany moved Sean East to cover the red hot Mekhi Lairy in the 2nd half, and in doing so, may have given New Albany what they needed to seal the game. East did a nice job in the 2nd half of containing Lairy from hitting shots on a consistent basis, disrupting his flow.
Best Under-the-Radar Performance: Isaac Hibbard, New Albany
Not only did Isaac Hibbard net the majority of his 20 points in the 2nd half when New Albany needed it the most, he knocked down all six of his free throws. Head Coach Jim Shannon was quoted to say, “We got uncorked when Hibbard got going…when Hibbard got going in the second half and gave us another somebody approaching 20, that kind of thing, I think it built the confidence in some other kids.” (quote from Kyle Williams, Courier-Journal).
Best Player Off-the-Bench: Nicely Tsiangueberi, Bosse
Nicely Tsiangueberi came in and provided a much needed spark for Bosse, scoring 8 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. A couple of those rebounds came from the offensive end, providing a lift when it was needed for Bosse.
Best Shooter: Romeo Langford, New Albany
It’s hard to argue. Langford went off in the 2nd half, going 4-5 beyond the arc including back-to-back 3-pointers. If he has a look, it’s going up – and most likely, it’s going in.
Best Intangibles: Javi Langley, Bosse
The 6’4 forward from Bosse can score, rebound, defend, pass, and shoot it well 15 feet and in. He had 11 points and 8 rebounds against New Albany and really showed a knack for finding the ball off the rim. If he seals you on the block, it’s over.
Best Rebounder: Javi Langley, Bosse
Langley led all players (from both teams) with 8 total rebounds on the game.
Best Underclassman (Not named Romeo Langford): Mekhi Lairy, Bosse
As stated earlier, his stat line speaks for itself. Lairy has a knack for hitting big shots, has a controlled drive to the rim that is hard to stop, and is as quick as lightning. Expect Lairy to continue to make a huge impact in games as his career continues on.
Biggest Takeaway: Both Teams Are Going To Make Some Noise
New Albany is the defending Indiana 4A State Champions. Expect them to continue to be a force as long as this team is together, and as long as Romeo Langford is wearing the black and red for the Bulldogs. New Albany has a combination of talent, grit, and composure that will benefit them come tournament time. They are currently ranked 6th overall in the state rankings.
Evansville Bosse competed in the Indiana 3A state championship game last season, but fell to Marion. Bosse hopes their luck will be different this year. Javi Langley had 19 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out of last years title game. He and Mekhi Lairy will make it hard for the Bulldogs not to have an opportunity to make an appearance once again. Bosse is currently ranked 21st overall in the state rankings.