New Palestine High School

Julius Gizzi hit two free throws with no time left Wednesday, giving the New Palestine boys basketball team a 61-60 victory over Indianapolis Metropolitan in the opening round of the Lebanon Holiday Classic. With the victory, the Dragons advanced to the 10 a.m. Thursday semifinal of the tournament, which will pit them against Gary 21st Century. The Dragons are now 7-0. Trailing 60-59, the Dragons took the ball out under their own defensive basket with 5.5 seconds left. They pushed the ball downcourt and found Gizzi at the block. His shot was deflected, but he was fouled in the action. He calmly sank both free throws to seal the victory. The Dragons mounted a furious comeback, as they trailed 60-56 in the final two minutes. Ben Slagley scored a three-point play on a third-chance rebound with 1:23 left. The Dragons had multiple opportunities, as they forced two turnovers and took advantage of a missed one-and-one, and cashed in on the last one. The Dragons raced to an early lead, as they used a 13-point first quarter run to go up 15-2, fueled by Slagley, who scored the team's first six points. Kendall Hill hit his second 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to put the Dragons up 20-8. The Dragons continued to pour it on in the second quarter, with Stephens leading the way. He scored nine poits in the frame, while Bryant Nunnally, Eian Roudebush and Gizzi each hit 3-pointers. NP led as much as 40-17, before Metro scored the last five points of the half to cut the lead to 40-22. The Pumas opened the second half with a quick 9-0 run to cut the Dragons' lead to single digits, fueled by Qushawn Ware, who didn't play in the opening half but made a big impact with eight third-quarter points. Blaine Nunnally scored four quick points out of a timeout to push the lead to 44-31, but Metro again chipped back, cutting the lead to 48-43 after the third, with guard Damarian Miller scoring nine points in the frame. Stephens and Nunnally tallied the Dragons' eight points in the frame, with each scoring four. The Dragons eventually surrendered the lead at 51-50 and again at 54-52, but a basket by Stephens drew the Dragons back on top and two free throws by Nunnally drew the Dragons even. Metro continued to answer and hit tough, contested shots from the perimeter to take a 60-56 lead before the Dragons rallied. Stephens led the Dragons with 20 points. Gizzi added 11 and Slagley 10. Blaine Nunnally and Hill scored six each, while Roudebush tallied five. Miller led four Pumas in double figures with 23 points, tallying 17 after halftime. If the Dragons win their 10 a.m. game Thursday, they will play at 7 p.m. Thursday evening in the title game at Lebanon. Otherwise, they will play at 5:15 p.m. in the third-place game.