New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team rallied from an early 14-point deficit to pull ahead in the third quarter and beat Pendleton Heights 57-54 Friday at NPHS. The Dragons made two big plays late to seal the victory. With the game tied at 52, Moses Haynes poked the ball free for a turnover, then fed Keagan Harrison for a layup on the ensuing 2-on-1 to give the Dragons the lead. PH answered as 6-7 center Josiah Gustin scored a putback with just over a minute to go. On the ensuing possession, the Dragons ran a play out of a timeout and found Julius Gizzi cutting the baseline for an open layup to re-take the lead at 56-54. The Dragons forced a stop on the other end and Gizzi hit one of two free throws with 15.8 seconds left. The Dragons then forced two Arabian misses from 3 on contested shots, with Gizzi grabbing a rebound at the buzzer to seal the victory. Early on, Gustin was strong inside, scoring six points, and PH was 8-of-8 from the line in building a 20-6 lead. Gizzi hit a late 3-pointer in the first for his seventh point to cut the deficit to 11. The Dragons started clawing back in the second quarter, with Gizzi scoring 15 points in the quarter - including 8-of-8 from the line. Evan Darrah and Haynes each hit 3-pointers in the frame, allowing the Dragons to cut the deficit to 34-33 at halftime. The Dragons quickly took the lead in the second half, as Ben Slagley scored on the first possession, but PH's Seth LaRavia answered with a 3-pointer to give the Arabians the lead. Gizzi answered right back with a triple of his own to put NP up 38-37. He scored nine points in the quarter, while Brady Armstrong added a 3-pointer, giving the Dragons a 48-44 lead going into the fourth. LaRavia opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to cut the Dragons' lead to one, but it was immediately answered by Evan Darrah's second triple of the night. Cooper Sims then hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 51-50. Gizzi hit a free throw to extend the lead to two, before Gustin scored inside to tie the game, setting up the tense final minutes. Gizzi led the Dragons with 35 points, his seventh 30-point game in the last eight. Haynes and Darrah scored seven each. Armstrong and Slagley tallied three points each. Harrison scored two. LaRavia and Gustin led PH with 17 points each. The Dragons are now 9-2 and 3-1 in HHC play. They next play Tuesday at unbeaten Richmond.