New Palestine High School

Junior Julius Gizzi scored 43 points Saturday to lead the New Palestine boys basketball team to a 75-56 victory at Franklin Central. Gizzi's total was the third-highest in school history, eclipsed only by Ryan Curry's 46 points in 2015 and a 44-point game by T.J. Ott in 1998. Gizzi hit 13 shots - including two 3-pointers - and was 15-of-17 from the free throw line. As a team, the Dragons were 23-of-26 from the stripe in the win. Gizzi and FC's E.J. Hazelett had a back-and-forth first quarter, as Gizzi scored eight points and Hazelett 10, with the teams tied 20-20 after eight minutes. Evan Darrah capped the quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers. The Dragons pulled ahead 39-32 at halftime, with Gizzi scoring 15 of the Dragons' 19 points in the frame. He had a late three-point play - his second of the quarter - and punctuated the half with a basket to push the lead from two to seven in the final 30 seconds. The Dragons broke the game open in the third, outscoring the Flashes 20-13 to take a 59-45 lead going into the final quarter. Ben Slagleu started the frame with a basket and Gizzi followed with his second 3-pointer of the game. Gizzi hit 6-of-6 from the line and scored 11 points in the quarter, while Slagley scored two baskets. In the fourth, Gizzi scored nine points, including 4-of-5 from the line, and three other Dragons scored baskets as the team extended the lead early in the quarter and never looked back. Coupled with his 31 points Friday against New Castle, Gizzi's 74 points in back-to-back games are the most ever by a Dragon. His was the sixth 40-point game in school history, and the first since his brother Maximus scored 41 against Whiteland in 2020. It also marked the first time a Dragon scored 30 points in back-to-back games since Michael Morris in 2013. In addition to Gizzi's career night, Darrah added nine points. Slagley scored eight, Moses Haynes six and Austin McMahan five. Brady Armstrong and Keagan Harrison tallied two points each. Hazelett led FC with 20 points. He was held to 10 points and one field goal after the first quarter. The Dragons JV and freshman teams both dropped their games. The Dragons (4-1) are next in action Dec. 29 in the Ray Furney Classic at Lawrenceburg. They face Jennings County and Newport (Ky.) that day.