New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team opens the 2024 portion of its schedule with a big home game Friday against 3A No. 2 Delta. IBCA RV/AP 3A #2 Delta (10-1, 1-0 HHC) at IBCA RV Dragons (7-2, 1-1 HHC) Time: 6 p.m. JV/7:30 p.m. V Site: NPHS Tickets: $6/at gate or https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=63537 Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: IHSAAtv.org/NewPalestine ($) SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons open the 2024 portion of their schedule with a conference game against Delta. It’s the Dragons’ first home game since Dec. 8 - they’ve played six consecutive contests on the road. Delta is the second team the Dragons have been faced that has been ranked at gametime. The Dragons’ other game vs. a ranked team was against Kentucky No. 8 Newport last week. The series is tied 14-14, although the Dragons have won two straight and eight of the last 12 matchups, including a 64-48 win last year. Julius Gizzi tallied 19 points and Ben Slagley had 14 points and 11 rebounds in that contest. Delta is ranked No. 2 in the AP 3A poll, up three spots from last week. The Dragons are receiving votes in the IBCA single-class poll. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons went 3-1 at last weekend’s Ray Furney Classic in Lawrenceburg, shooting better than 50% in each game and finishing fifth overall. The Dragons were the only team to play eventual champion Newport (Ky.) to a single-digit margin on the weekend. Junior Julius Gizzi was named to the All-Tournament Team last weekend, scoring 119 points over the four contests. He had 30, 35, 24 and 30 in the four games, hitting 15-29 from 3-point range, 16-20 from the free throw line and 44-83 from the field. Gizzi started the weekend by tallying 20 points in the third quarter of the opening game against Jennings County to net him 30 for the game. His 35 that afternoon against Newport was the second-highest total of his career. Gizzi became the first Dragon to score 30 points in four consecutive games with his performances last Friday. He currently ranks third in the state in scoring at 28.8 ppg. He is tallying 32.2 ppg in his last six contests. Junior Ben Slagley nearly had a triple-double against Jennings County, tallying 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He had another double-double against Pike Central, with 16 points and 11 boards. He was 7-7 from the floor in that contest. He moved up to fourth on the Dragons’ all-time blocked shots list with 51 for his career. Junior Moses Haynes has always dished the ball well - he averages an HHC-best 5.9 assist per game - but he found the scoring touch last weekend, hitting four 3-pointers twice to score 16 against Jennings County and 14 against Bethesda Christian. He averaged 6.5 assists per game over the weekend, with a career high of eight against Newport. He followed it up with seven the next night against Pike Central. Haynes also had eight steals, a career high, against Bethesda Christian. Several players notched career highs last week. Among them, junior Keagan Harrison had nine points against Jennings County. As a team, the Dragons are shooting 54% from the floor and 39% from deep. The Dragons are ninth in the state - and sixth in 4A - in scoring offense (71.1 ppg) and 20th in average victory margin (17.7 ppg). Gizzi is fourth in the state in scoring at 28.6 ppg, trailing Herron’s Philip Randolph (31.5), Maconaquah’s Josiah Ball (30.1) and Valparaiso’s Jack Smiley (28.8). Slagley (7.7) and Gizzi (7.3) are 1-2 in the HHC in rebounding. Haynes (5.9) leads the conference in assists, with Slagley (4.2) third. SCOUTING THE EAGLES Delta enters the week with a 10-1 record and a six-game winning streak. The lone blemish is a 65-61 OT loss to Tipton Dec. 9. The Eagles won their own eight-team tournament last weekend, beating Winchester 71-27, Fort Wayne Concordia 52-33 and Northeastern 52-43. Delta is sixth in the state in scoring defense, allowing 38.0 ppg. The Eagles are 10th in the state and second in Class 3A in average victory margin (19.8 ppg). Jackson Wors (16.0 ppg) and D’Amare Hood (14.5 ppg) lead the Eagles. LOOKING AHEAD The Dragons play single games the first two weekends of 2024, as they will host their annual doubleheader against Pendleton Heights next Friday, Jan. 12. A three-game week follows, with a Jan. 16 trip to Richmond followed by weekend games against Roncalli and Franklin at home, their lone January double-weekend. FOLLOW US Follow the Dragons on Facebook (@newpalestinedragons), Twitter (@NPHSDragons), Instagram (@newpalestinedragons) and online (NewPalestineAthletics.com). All Dragons boys basketball games, home and away, are broadcast at NewPalRadio.com. All home games are also provided via pay-per-view at IHSAAtv.org.