Jim Shannon knew his Bulldogs were up against a major challenge on Thursday night as they faced the number one team in the nation, La Lumiere.

New Albany was able to get the ball to Romeo Langford early and often. He was able to backdoor cut Brian Bowen for a couple easy looks at the basket. Those easy baskets and scoring opportunities quickly disappeared.

La Lumiere went on a 14-2 run to end the first quarter. Turnovers started to hurt New Albany at the end of the quarter which led to quick and easy scores.

2017 wing Brian Bowen scored 11 of his 14 first half points in the second quarter. Michigan signee Jordan Poole added nine of his 12 first half points in the second quarter.  The duo was 7-10 from beyond the three-point line.

Romeo hit back to back three-pointers to start the half. New Albany was able to chip away at the big La Lumiere lead slightly in the third quarter although Brian Bowen continued to play really well. The La Lumiere lead was down to 14 early in the fourth quarter.

“I thought our kids battled, you know, really hard,” said New Albany coach Jim Shannon. “ I was really proud of them.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. and Tyger Campbell put an end to that. Jackson blocked shots, cleaned it up then threw a few outlet passes to Campbell who scored through and over New Albany defenders. Campbell was a passer in the first half with seven assists then a scorer in the second as he scored 14 of his 18 after halftime. Those two were really good in multiple areas of the game against New Albany.

Once La Lumiere replenished its lead to 21, the outcome was never in doubt the rest of the way. The individual match-ups were still fun, though. Langford had to create shots for himself on each offensive possession. He made some great moves and finishes in the second half. None were bigger or better than his transition dunk over Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter. Langford went right over the top of the 6-foot-10-inch senior. It was a SportsCenter top play.

“I didn’t think he was going to jump then he kind of jumped late but it’s whatever,” Romeo Langford said of his dunk.

The shooting of La Lumiere was really impressive. The Lakers finished the game 10-25 from three-point land but they were 9-18 in the first three quarters. Bowen and Poole were responsible for most of that damage. It was the best I’ve seen Bowen shoot especially in the first three quarters.

Despite La Lumiere winning and having a handful of D1 players, junior Romeo Langford was the best player on the court Thursday night. He was able to do some many things that the other top prospects couldn’t think about doing.

La Lumiere cruised to the 85-63 victory. Romeo Langford finished with a game-high 40 points. Brian Bowen led LaLu with 27. Jaren Jackson Jr. had nine points, 19 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals.

New Albany – Romeo Langford 40 points (17-37 FG, 4-11 3FG, 6-7 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 1 assist, Isaac Hibbard 9 points (3-10 FG, 1-3 3FG, 2-3 FT), 5 rebounds, Julien Hunter 2 points, 6 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 1 steal, Sean East 8 points, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, Savion Southers 0 points, 1 rebound, Blake Murphy 1 points, 2 rebounds, Seth Short 3 points, 2 rebounds

La Lumiere – Jaren Jackson 9 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, Brian Bown 27 points (11-20 FG, 5-9 3FG), 4 rebounds, Jacob Epperson 8 points, 6 rebounds, 6 turnovers, 1 assist, Tyger Campbell 18 points (8-12 FG, 1-3 3FG, 1-3 FT), 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 0 turnovers, Isaiah Coleman-Lands 5 points, 2 assists, Jordan Poole 16 points (5-9 FG, 3-6 3FG), Grant Beucler 2 points