Staff Reports
NEW ALBANY — Columbus East held the state’s top boys basketball team to a point under its average Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough in a 78-58 Hoosier Hills Conference loss at New Albany.
The Class 4A No. 1 Bulldogs jumped out to a 27-15 lead after one quarter and led 44-27 at halftime.
The Olympians cut the lead to 12 in the third quarter, but New Albany pulled away.
“I thought our kids played extremely hard,” East coach Brent Chitty said. “We didn’t shoot as well as we did the other night against Brownstown, but we didn’t take bad shots. Our shot selection was pretty decent.”
The Olympians (9-8, 2-2) had beaten Class 3A No. 3 Brownstown on Thursday. The Bulldogs (16-1, 6-0) beat New Albany 102-34 on Thursday behind 44 points from Romeo Langford. Langford led the Bulldogs with 33 on Saturday.
“Romeo has to be one of the best guards in the state, and they have some other guys that shoot the ball well,” Chitty said. “There’s a reason they’re No. 1, and they deserve it.”
Parker Chitty led East with 17 points. Kevin Williams added 10, while Max Nolting and Zach Sanders had eight.
“Max Nolting hit some good shots in the first half,” Brent Chitty said. “I thought our guys were aggressive. I thought both our games this week, our kids battled.”
