New Palestine High School

Julius Gizzi scored 34 points Friday to lead the New Palestine boys basketball team to a 62-54 victory over 3A No. 2 Delta in the Dragons' first game of 2024. Gizzi and Delta's D'Amare Hood both had outstanding scoring nights, with Hood scoring 35 points and Gizzi matching that output, but the Dragons' depth proved crucial in taking the lead for good in the third quarter and keeping the Eagles at arm's length in the fourth. Ben Slagley gave the Dragons a strong start, scoring eight first-quarter points. Gizzi had six, but Hood scored 11 - including a 3-pointer that broke an 8-all tie - to give Delta a 15-14 lead after one. In the second, Hood scored four quick points to give his team a 19-16 lead, but the Dragons found Austin McMahan open under the basket for two shots. From there, it was a back-and-forth contest, with Gizzi scoring nine points - including a deep 3-pointer - to help the Dragons take a 27-26 lead into the break. Hood scored seven while Jackson Wors hit two shots as the lead changed hands five times in the latter half of the quarter. In the third, the Slagley hit a quick shot, Delta answered, then Hood hit a 3-pointer to put Delta up 31-29. Slagley and McMahan each scored baskets, while Gizzi hit a basket and a free throw to allow the Dragons to take a 38-31 lead. Delta would keep coming back, but the Dragons answered to keep the Eagles at arm's length. Slagley scored eight points in the frame and Gizzi seven as NP took a 44-38 lead into the fourth. Delta cut the lead to one possession on multiple occasions in the fourth. Gizzi scored seven of the Dragons' first nine points, while McMahan hit a shot to give NP a 53-47 lead, as Hood and Bronson Edwards both hit 3-pointers for Delta. Hood hit another triple and a free throw - sandwiched around a Gizzi basket - to cut the lead to 55-51. With 1:25 left and the Dragons leading by four, Moses Haynes stole a handoff at midcourt and turned it into a breakaway layup to extend the lead to six, then the Dragons forced a miss on the other end. McMahan hit an open layup and Gizzi hit 3-of-4 from the line down the stretch to put the game away. In addition to Gizzi's 34 points - his second consecutive 30-point game and his sixth 30-point outing in seven contests - Slagley scored 16, McMahan a career-high 10 and Haynes 2. Hood was Delta's lone double-figure scorer with 35. Wors added eight. Delta won the JV game 54-48. The Dragons (8-2, 2-1 HHC) are next in action Jan. 12 against Pendleton Heights. Delta falls to 10-2 (1-1 HHC).