New Palestine High School

Julius Gizzi scored 44 points - two shy of the school record - and Austin McMahan blocked a shot at the buzzer Saturday to lead the New Palestine boys basketball team to a thrilling 76-75 victory over Whiteland. The Dragons improved to 18-4 with the victory. The Dragons built a 60-46 lead early in the fourth quarter after Gizzi hit a basket on the first possession of the quarter, but Whiteland wouldn't go away. The Warriors' Wiatt McLaughlin scored five quick points to cut the lead to nine. Gizzi answered with a basket and Haynes a steal-and-score to push the lead back to 13 at 64-51. But Whiteland again wouldn't go away. Jaz Banwait came out of a timeout with a three-point play and, after a Dragons miss, Whiteland's Ethan Edwards hit the first of his back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Dragons' lead to 64-57. Gizzi hit another shot in the lane and fed Alex Guhl with a beautiful behind-the-back pass to sandwich Edwards' second 3-pointer to push the lead to 68-60 with four minutes left. Banwait hit a 3-pointer and McLaughlin a drive in the lane to help cut the Dragons' lead to 70-68 - Austin McMahan hit two free throws, then Moses Haynes hit two more free throws to extend the lead to 72-68. McLaughlin scored a three-point play with 1:30 left to cut the Dragons' lead to one. Gizzi answered with a driving shot with 1:04 left. Banwait hit a contested shot in the lane to cut the lead to one again in the final minute. Gizzi scored his 44th point on a drive with 30 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds, Edwards got free and hit a layup to cut the lead to 76-75 with 15 seconds left. After a Dragons turnover, Whiteland had two shots to win. Edwards' 3-pointer fell out, but the rebound was deflected out of bounds by the Dragons. Whiteland set up Banwait for a shot at the buzzer, but McMahan reached up and got a hand on the jumper to deflect. It fell short and the Dragons sealed the victory. The opening half developed as a shootout between Gizzi and McLaughlin. Gizzi scored eight points to help the Dragons build a 19-13 lead, but McMalughlin hit a 3-pointer and a basket in the lane in the final 45 seconds to cut the lead to 19-18 after one. The Warriors took the lead in the second, as Banwait and McLaughlin hit early 3-pointers, but the Dragons answered with a runner by McMahan and a 3-pointer by Gizzi. Gizzi scored 12 points in the frame and had 20 in the opening half, while McLaughlin had 16 for Whiteland. Gizzi took things over in the third, scoring 14 points - including two three-point plays - to help the Dragons pull ahead. NP finished the quarter on an 11-2 run fueled by Gizzi, who scored five points in the run, and Evan Darrah, who drilled a 3-pointer and hit a free throw. Gizzi added a career-high 15 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. His 44-point night tied T.J. Ott for the second-highest total in school history. Ott tallied 44 against Hamilton Southeastern in 1998. Ryan Curry continues to hold the school record with 46 points, set against Shelbyville in 2015. Gizzi broke the gymnasium record for points in a game, which was set in 2020 by his brother Maximus, who scored 41 against Whiteland. It was the seventh 40-point game in school history and third at the Dragons' Den. In addition, Haynes scored nine points. McMahan tallied seven. Keagan Harrison had five points. Darrah and Guhl scored four each, while senior Brady Armstrong tallied three in his final home game. McLaughlin led Whiteland with 28 points. Banwait scored 19. The duo combined for 18 of Whiteland's 29 fourth-quarter points as they led a furious comeback that fell just short. Edwards scored 14 points, including eight in the fourth quarter. Gavin Stubbe added 10 to give the Warriors four double-figure scorers. The Dragons won the JV game 50-44. The Dragons next play Tuesday at Mt. Vernon.