New Palestine High School

In the sectional opener, the New Palestine boys basketball team scored the winning points with four seconds left. They waited even longer Friday, as Ben Slagley hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Dragons a 60-58 victory over Pendleton Heights and propel them into the championship game of the Greenfield-Central sectional. The 15th-ranked Dragons (21-5) advance to face No. 6 Greenfield-Central (24-0) in Saturday's 7:30 p.m. title game. The Dragons are playing for a sectional championship for the sixth time in seven years and the 27th time in school history. NP is seeking its 11th sectional title. With the game tied at 58-58, the Dragons inbounded to Moses Haynes, who drove down the lane, drew the defense and dumped the ball off to Slagley for the shot at the rim to give the Dragons the victory. Slagley, who also scored the game-winning free throws with four seconds left in Tuesday's 58-56 victory over Mt. Vernon, has become the Dragons' Mr. Clutch since the calendar turned to February. He also hit a shot at the buzzer against Guerin Catholic. The Dragons led 46-41 going into the fourth quarter, but PH opened the period with a 3-pointer and a basket by Seth LaRavia to cut the lead to 48-46. A basket by Slagley restored a four-point lead, but PH answered again, with a free throw by LaRavia and a basket by Dontrez Braxton to cut the Dragons' edge to 50-49. Haynes hit his fourth 3-pointer of the day to push the lead to 53-49, but PH's Evan Mozingo answered with a triple to again cut the lead to one. The Dragons answered again, as Brady Armstrong drilled his third triple of the evening out of the corner to push the lead to 56-52. LaRavia scored to draw the Arabians within a basket. Julius Gizzi hit two free throws, but PH was able to score, get a stop and score again on baskets by Josiah Gustin and Aaron Cookston to tie the game with 10 seconds left, setting the stage for Slagley's winner. The game featured wild swings. Haynes hit three first-quarter 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the frame. Gizzi and Keagan Harrison also hit triples as NP jumped out to an 18-8 lead, but PH ended the first quarter on a Gustin-led 10-3 run to cut the Dragons' lead to 21-18 after one. The Dragons had a long dry spell in the second quarter and scored just six points in the frame - two baskets by Slagley and two free throws from Gizzi - while PH finished the quarter on a run fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from LaRavia and Cookston to take a 37-27 lead at the break, finishing the half on a 29-9 extended run. Gustin had 19 points at the half and LaRavia tallied 11. The Dragons then opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run, holding PH scoreless for the first six minutes of the quarter. Armstrong hit back-to-back 3-pointers to draw the Dragons within four, then Haynes and Slagley each hit shots to tie the game at 37-37 in the first two minutes of the quarter. Haynes and Gizzi followed with baskets to push the lead to 41-37. A 3-pointer by Evan Darrah helped extend the edge to 46-41 going into the fourth. The Dragons had strong balance. Haynes led the way with 18 points, scoring 11 in the opening quarter. Gizzi tallied 11 and Slagley 10. Armstrong tied his career high with nine points. Harrison and Darrah tallied five points each, while Austin McMahan scored two. LaRavia led PH with 21 points, while Gustin scored 19 - and was held to two points after halftime. The Dragons are seeking their second straight sectional title and their fourth since 2019. They have won 10 sectional titles in school history, with six of the 10 coming since 2007.