4A in Richmond: New Albany 82, Southport 64
New Albany and Southport had the gym packed on Saturday afternoon with a trip to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on the line. The near capacity crowd saw a performance that they will be talking about for years.
Sophomore guard Romeo Langford has been fantastic all year for New Albany. He continued his stellar play against Southport and added to his legend in the process. Langford started the game with a three-pointer and that was just the tip of the iceberg. He scored 10 points in the opening period.
Southport showed some jitters early in the game with shot selection. Many of the Cardinals shots ended up being long as well showing the energy of the game. Butler signee Joey Brunk was the calming force in the opening quarter. He hit a three-pointer and scored seven points in the period for Southport.
The Romeo Langford show hit prime time in the second quarter. He scored 15 points in the second period. He was outscoring Southport by himself late in the first half and even. It was a spectacular show although it is not uncommon for Langford at this point.
“He (Langford) just keeps climbing that ladder,” said New Albany head coach Jim Shannon. “He'll do something crazy and you'll think well, “Just another day for Romeo.” I thought that he went up another rung today. I think the competition brought it out of him.”
Unfortunately for Southport, the halftime break didn't slow down Langford. He was actually better in the third quarter. Langford hit two three-pointers to open the second half. The 2018 guard made five three-pointers in the quarter. He had 43 points with 2:25 left in the third quarter. That total came in about 22 minutes of game action – not even a full half of NBA basketball.
“Obviously, you will look at the tape and think (what else you could do), but he's a tremendous player and had a great day. Actually, he had better than a great day – he had an outstanding day,” Southport head coach Kyle Simpson said of Romeo Langford's performance.
Southport made some runs. They cut it to a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Brunk and junior guard Paul Scruggs did not want the season to end. The pair scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Southport hope alive.
It wasn't enough, though. New Albany milked time off the clock with each and Southport couldn't hit enough shots from the outside to close the gap.
“When we would get our crowd back into, he (Langford) would hit a big shot,” said Joey Brunk of not being able to complete the comeback.
Michael Maxwell was a role player that didn't fill up the stat sheet until the fourth quarter. The senior forward for New Albany helped put Southport away in the final period. Maxwell scored all 10 of his points in the quarter.
New Albany won the game by the score of 82-64. They will play for the class 4A state championship at Bankers Life Fieldhouse next Saturday.
Romeo Langford finished the game with 46 points and nine rebounds. His 46 points came on 15-24 from the field including 8-12 from the three-point line. It was a truly special performance by a one of the best players in the country.
“I think, he is special. Once in a lifetime, kids like this come along. He'll be mentioned with the greatest names out there by the time he leaves,” said Jim Shannon about Romeo Langford.
New Albany – Romeo Langford 46 points (15-24 FG, 8-12 3FG, 8-10 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 1 block, 1 steal; Sean East 8 points, 4 rebounds; Isaac Hibbard 7 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 stea; Michael Maxwell 10 points, 5 rebounds; Josh Jefferson 11 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Southport – Paul Scruggs 19 points (7-13 FG, 3-7 3FG, 2-2 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 steal; Blake Evans 6 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Luke Johnston 2 points; Eli Walton 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover; Joey Brunk 22 points (8-14 FG, 4-5 3FG, 2-5 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, David Reyes 3 points, Harold Bennett 3 points