New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team had a hot start Friday and carried it to a 79-67 victory at Eastern Hancock in the Dragons' season opener. Four players scored in double figures to lead the Dragons. Liam Atkinson and Will Davison each tallied 19 points. Evan Darrah had 15, while Sam Hirschy had a double-double with 13 points and more than a dozen rebounds. Atkinson and Hirschy were making their first career varsity starts. The Dragons got things done on both ends to start the game. After an early basket by Hirschy, Atkinson drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Dragons on top for good. He hit three triples in the opening frame. Darrah hit another and scored five points, while Hirschy tallied four points in the frame. The Dragons held EH to two field goals by Caden Powers and three free throws, jumping ahead 21-7 after a quarter. The Dragons extended the lead to 16 early in the second, but a six-point EH run cut the lead to 10. But the Dragons' hot shooting from beyond the arc continued - Cael Butler opened the quarter with a triple. Atkinson and Eli Parrett followed with 3-pointers to push the lead to 16. After an EH mini-run to cut the lead to 10, Davison hit a 3-pointer and Evan Study a basket to push the lead to 37-21, but the Royals answered with five points in the final 30 seconds of the quarter to cut the advantage to 37-26 at the break. The Dragons kept the lead in double-digits in the third, frequently getting to the line. Darrah scored four early points to extend the edge. Davison scored 11 points in the quarter - hitting four field goals and 3-of-5 from the stripe. Atkinson nailed his fifth 3-pointer of the game and scored five in the frame. The Dragons maintained the lead despite EH's Landyn Loring scoring 19 of his game-high 24 points in the frame. In the fourth, the Dragons kept the lead at double-figures as Hirschy scored seven points inside, and Darrah tallied six. NP hit 8-of-10 from the line in the quarter. Loring led EH with 24 points. Powers added 19. In addition to the four double-figure scorers for the Dragons. Parrett tallied six points. Butler scored three. Evan Study and Carson Rush each tallied two. The Dragons (1-0) are next in action Saturday at Greenwood, with a 5:30 p.m. varsity tip.