High school hoops: Last-second chaos ends Bloomington North’s night in 63-61 loss to New Albany

Indiana. Michigan State. Maine. Georgetown.

Those weren’t the schools that have made offers to New Albany sophomore forward Noah Washington—but they were the names on the jerseys worn by students in the “The Cougar Den” on Friday night. When Washington set foot on Tom McKinney Court, the class of 2028 four-star recruit was met with a loud, “O-ver-rat-ed!” chant from the Bloomington North fans.

Washington had the last laugh over North, as New Albany defeated the Cougars 63–61 in a game that featured a back-and-forth battle throughout the second half. With 1.3 on the clock, a layup from junior guard Reece McKee gave New Albany the upper hand. What followed was a series of mishaps.

After a timeout, Bloomington North junior guard Nathan Walker threw his inbounds attempt from New Albany’s end of the court towards junior forward Levi Lindeman, who was set up near the sideline opposite the benches. Lindeman caught the ball, and put up a shot that hit the side of the backboard. The clock showed zeros and the buzzer sounded.

But the game wasn’t over.

The trio of referees determined that Lindeman stepped out of bounds when receiving the ball. They put one second back on the clock. All New Albany had to do was inbounds the basketball, and the game would most likely be over.

The ref handed the ball to junior forward Seth Winslow, who was ready to end the game and send the Bulldogs 105 miles back home with their fifth win in a row. Winslow threw a pass intended for junior guard Jaedyn Sharp, but the ball was just out of Sharp’s reach.

Because Sharp didn’t touch the ball, the clock stood still at one second left, allowing North another chance to win or tie the game.

Again, Walker inbounded the ball. But this time, New Albany played tight defense on the Cougars elite shooters, leaving only junior forward Tevin Bridgewaters open. Bridgewaters caught the ball and threw up a no-look turnaround shot.

Bloomington North fans held their breath, but the shot hit the top of the backboard, which gave the No. 10 team in IHSAA Class 4A their 18th victory this season.

Junior guard Derrick Cross Jr. led the Cougars with 24 points. Cross Jr. knocked down big shots in the second half—finishing the final 16 minutes with 18 points—and was efficient for the entire game. He finished 9 of 16 from the field and 3 of 8 on his 3-point attempts.

Besides Cross Jr., Bridgewaters was the only other Cougar to finish the game with double-digit points. Bridgewaters knocked down 5 of 12 shots from the field for 12 points. But aside from those two players, North didn’t get much help from anyone else. Lindeman went 3 of 12 on his attempts for eight points, while senior forward Ka’Mareon Washington finished with seven points.

On the other bench, Washington was productive for a New Albany team that needed a go-to scorer at several points throughout the game. He finished with 34 points, going 13 of 21 from the field, and knocking down 5 of 6 from behind the 3-point arc.

In the regular-season finale for both teams, North and New Albany were fierce from the jump ball. Sharp knocked down a 3-pointer and then followed it up with a 2-pointer to give the Bulldogs an early 5–0 lead less than a minute into the game.

But North chipped away throughout the first quarter. Bridgewaters and Cross Jr. hit 2-pointers. Then a Walker 3-pointer tied the game at 7–7. Then came an almost three-minute stretch of basketball that didn’t see either team score a point.

By the end of the first quarter, New Albany only led 12–9. Neither team shot the ball efficiently, with the Bulldogs going 5 of 13 (38%), while the Cougars compiled a 4 of 12 (33%) performance.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued into the early stages of the second quarter. Then, back-to-back made 3s from Washington—who scored all 12 points for the Bulldogs in the second quarter—put New Albany up 24–15. However, 2-pointers from Bridgewaters and senior wing Rex Speer reduced North’s deficit to five points heading into halftime.

Coming out of the break, the momentum swung towards the Cougars. Cross Jr. followed up a made free throw by knocking down a 3-pointer to bring North to within three points. New Albany’s lead was down to 26–23. But New Albany responded with a 7–0 scoring run, which saw the Bulldogs lead blossom to 10 points.

However, North kept on chipping away. A 3-pointer from Washington found the bottom of the net with just over 2:30 remaining in the quarter, leading New Albany head coach Jason Jones to call a timeout. It was a well-timed break, as on the next possession, sophomore guard Kyron Johnson threw a lob pass to Washington, who slammed the ball into the basket to silence the home crowd.

That silence lasted one possession. Cross Jr. drilled a 3-pointer before drawing a foul on the following possession, converting both free throw attempts to give North a 41–40 lead at the end of the third quarter. North finished the third quarter shooting 7 of 10 from the field and 3 of 3 from beyond the arc.

And the back-and-forh high-level 3-point shooting continued into the fourth quarter. Cross Jr, then Washington, followed by junior guard Alex Miller, and Washington again kept New Albany within one point with over six minutes remaining in the game.

The Bulldogs grew their lead to four points twice throughout the final quarter, but North steadied itself and fought back to tie the game. The final comeback came with 40 seconds left in the game, as Linedeman attacked the basket, making his layups and drawing the foul.

With the Cougars up one point, they had to settle in defensively. But sophomore forward Corbin Crone had another idea, making a 3-pointer that put New Albany up 61–59. North responded with a putback from Washington to tie the game. However, the McKee layup and the ensuing series of misfortunes led to a 63–61 loss for the Cougars.

Bloomington North finishes the regular season 14–7 overall and 2-3 in Conference Indiana. The Cougars will travel to Terre Haute North Vigo for a Class 4A Sectional 13 semifinal matchup next Friday (March 3). If North can win that matchup, the Cougars would travel to Martinsville for the Sectional championship.

Photos: Bloomington North vs. New Albany, Feb. 27, 2026

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