Bulldogs control paint, defend well to defeat Falcons
Dec. 7—NEW ALBANY — New Albany utilized a smothering defense which in turn allowed them to control the paint in their 57-39 win over Ingomar on Thursday. New Albany (8-1) was the fourth ranked team in the Daily Journal area team poll while Ingomar (11-3) came in at ninth.
"We were 18 percent from the three-point line at 3 for 16, so we didn't shoot it well, but our defense was good and I thought Issac Gilbert was a big key to that," New Albany coach Scotty Shettles said. "He had 13 rebounds and he kinda intimidated people down in the paint, he probably had four or five blocks, so I thought he was a big key to our success."
Kylan Lindsey provided the spark along with teammate Dee Johnson early on as they each hit for six points and guided the Bulldogs to an early 15-2 lead. Ingomar was able to cut the lead down to 15-8 at the end of the first period.
New Albany went right back to work and opened up their largest lead of the night in the second quarter at 19 points, but Ingomar again had a late offensive surge to cut the lead down to 11 points at 32-21 at the half.
Both offenses struggled in the third quarter as they combined for only 17 points as the Bulldogs led 43-29.
The Bulldogs closed out the affair with a 14-10 scoring advantage for the 57-39 win.
The Bulldogs had four players in double figures while Ingomar had only one, Brayden Tillery at 11 points.
(G) Ingomar 67, New Albany 32: The sixth-ranked team in the area, Ingomar (11-2) had no trouble making the contest a runaway as they ran out to a 48-16 halftime lead. Ingomar's Macie Phifer dominated the game despite playing only three quarters while scoring 27 points. Daylen Grisham added 13 and Cadie Jo Byrd added 10 points. New Albany was led by Gabby Starks with 14 and Tylea Frazier hit for nine points.
Three-Pointers
Turning Point: New Albany opened up a 19 point lead at 30-11 midway into the second quarter and Ingomar was never able to cut the deficit to single digits the rest of the contest.
Point Men: New Albany had four players in double figures — Kylan Lindsey (14), Braden Shettles (12), Dee Johnson (11) and Issac Gilbert (10) to balance their scoring attack.
Talking Point: "No doubt, the key to the game was defense, we held them (Ingomar) to eight points one quarter, eight points another quarter, 10 points and 13 points. I thought that our defense was good on a night when we did not shoot the ball well from the three-point line." — Shettles
