New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team is back in action Friday at Greenfield-Central as the second half of a girls/boys doubleheader and its Hoosier Heritage Conference opener. The girls tip off the night at 6 p.m. as the Dragons look to improve to 4-0 in Hoosier Heritage Conference play and build on their 7-3 record and five-game winning streak. The boys enter the night 3-0. Friday GIRLS: New Palestine Dragons (7-3, 3-0) at Greenfield-Central Cougars (3-6, 0-1) BOYS: New Palestine Dragons (3-0, 0-0) at Greenfield-Central Cougars (3-0, 0-0) Time: 6 p.m. girls, 7:30 p.m. boys Site: Cougar Gymnasium, Greenfield (directions: https://goo.gl/maps/sCbhvQyy1apeT2s1A) Tickets: $6, available at gate with cash and credit card Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: https://www.youtube.com/@GreenfieldCentralAthletics GIRLS PREVIEW: https://www.newpalestineathletics.com/Article/4446 BOYS PREVIEW SETTING THE SCENE Hoosier Heritage Conference play opens this week with all eight teams involved in conference tilts. The Dragons open HHC play with their traditional second Friday in December date with Greenfield-Central. With the exception of weather postponements, this game has been played on this date since the series began in 1984. The Dragons hold a 29-28 record in the all-time series, including 26-20 in regular-season games. The Dragons are 18-5 in the series since 2007. The Dragons won last year’s meeting 47-43, with Ian Stephens scoring 14 points to lead the way. Both teams are coming off strong seasons. The Dragons went 19-7 last year, the second-most wins in school history. G-C went 15-8 last year, the program’s first 15-win season since 2016. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons have started 3-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season, when they won four straight to start the year. The Dragons extended their record by sweeping the first double-weekend of the year. On Friday, Blaine Nunnally scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, while Ian Stephens also tallied 23 points in a 62-53 victory over Eastern Hancock. Stephens scored eight first-quarter points, helping stake the Dragons to a 21-9 lead. The duo combined for all 19 fourth-quarter points. Nunnally added five assists, while Stephens had eight rebounds. Moses Haynes had four assists, while Eian Roudebush had a career-high six rebounds. On Saturday, the Dragons scored 20 consecutive first-half points to break open their 70-33 victory over Rushville. It was the Dragons’ biggest win since beating Shelbyville 89-49 Feb. 14, 2020. Four players scored in double figures - Nunnally had 12 of his team-high 14 in the first half. He also had six assists. Ben Slagley added 12 points and nine rebounds. Bryant Nunnally scored a career-high 10 points - all in the Dragons’ 26-point third quarter. Stephens also scored 10. In addition, Moses Haynes had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting and Julius Gizzi scored eight. Nine different Dragons scored in the game. The Dragons have shot better than 50 precent in each of their three games this season, hitting 55 percent (27-49) against Richmond, 51 percent (23-45) against Eastern Hancock and 52 percent (27-52) against Rushville. Stephens was the HHC’s leading rebounder last season, averaging 9.7 boards per game. His 251 rebounds were the sixth-most in a season in school history and the most since Jeremy Yoder tallied 258 in the 1992-93 season. Nunnally, a three-sport athlete, led the HHC in assists last year with 4.4 per game. He picked up where he left off with a five-assist contest. He has 862 career points and 304 career assists, the latter tying Jeff Mitchell for fourth on the school’s all-time list. Coach Trent Whitaker is fifth on the NPHS all-time coaching wins list. He needs four victories to reach 100 for his career. SCOUTING THE COUGARS Greenfield-Central began the season with three straight victories, beating Beech Grove 62-47, Northeastern 61-47 and . Senior Dylan Moles leads the Cougars, averaging 26 points and 4 assists per contest. Sophomore Braylon Mullins adds 16.3 points and 6 rebounds, while senior Tyler Kerkhof totals 12.5 points and 3.5 assists. NEXT UP The Dragons return home next weekend to continue HHC play Dec. 16 against New Castle. They welcome Franklin Central Dec. 17 before a brief break. They’ll return to action Dec. 28-29 at the Lebanon Holiday Tournament, with the opening game at 1 p.m. Dec. 28 against Indianapolis Metropolitan.