Although there were only four ties and four lead changes, Saturday afternoon’s Hoosier Hills Conference battle between homestanding Columbus East and visiting New Albany was a tightly contested one.
No team led by more than six points throughout the game, and in the end, it was the Bulldogs who escaped with a 44-42 victory as the final horn sounded.
The Olympians had their chances down the stretch but were unable to cash in. They hit just 4 of 7 free throws in the final period and had the ball for the final possession of the game.
After New Albany’s Derrick Stevenson missed the front end of a one-and-one with 8 seconds left, East grabbed the rebound. The ball found Matt Frost, but his contested shot in the lane missed the mark as time expired.
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“It comes down to the fact that they hit shots, and we didn’t,” East coach Brent Chitty said. “I have no complaints about our effort. We battled, but we have to knock down shots.”
The game was close from the opening tip. After the Bulldogs (12-6, 4-2) scored the first four points of the game, a Tyler Boyer three got the Olympians (6-8, 2-1) on the board. From there, it was a battle between New Albany’s Julien Hunter and East’s Drew Johnson for the remainder of the quarter.
Hunter scored all 10 first-quarter points for the Bulldogs, while Johnson scored nine of the Olympians next 11 points. As the teams headed for the second period, East held a 14-10 lead.
New Albany came out in the second period and surprised East with a 1-3-1 half-court trap that the Olympians struggled to adjust to. They turned the ball over on their first four possessions, allowing the Bulldogs to go on an 8-0 run, turning the tables on East and taking an 18-14 lead. The Olympians also continued to struggle to contain Hunter, who scored 17 of his team high 19 points in the first half.
East was eventually able to stabilize itself, however, and end the period with a 7-0 spurt of its own to head to halftime holding a 25-23 lead.
“We didn’t handle their trap really well for about the first four possessions, but then we were able to adjust and get some good looks there,” Chitty said.
Coming out of the locker room, each team continued to battle and refused to give in. Following another Johnson basket that gave the Olympians a four point lead, Stevenson went on a personal 8-0 run to give New Albany the lead back going into the final period.
Johnson cut the lead to one on a driving layup to begin the final period, but the Bulldogs scored the next five points to take their largest lead of the game at 40-34 with 3:55 remaining.
The Olympians quickly answered to cut the lead to one on a Carson Whitehead put back with 1:34 left. Following two New Albany free throws, Johnson connected on one of two attempts of his own, cutting the lead to two to set up the dramatic, yet frustrating finish for East.
Johnson finished with 20 points to lead the Olympians. Boyer added 10.
“I’ve come to expect this from Drew,” Chitty said. “He’s a good ballplayer. He sets the table and makes good reads. He’s been with us a long time, so I’m not surprised at all.”
