New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team found itself in a back-and-forth tilt with Zionsville at Saturday's Tipoff Classic, but the Dragons surged ahead with a monster run to take command in a 65-53 victory over the Eagles. The game was part of a six-game smorgasbord of marquee matchups at the Southport Fieldhouse. The Dragons trailed 40-37 late in the third quarter. Evan Darrah hit a 3-pointer to tie the game. Zionsville answered, but Darrah used a shot fake to free himself and step into an 18-foot baseline jumper to tie the game again, touching off a 21-1 run that allowed the Dragons to seize control. On the next possession, Julius Gizzi hit a 30-foot 3-pointer and was fouled. He hit the free throw for a four-point play that put the Dragons up 46-42 and flipped the game's momentum going into the fourth quarter. The Dragons kept the run going in the final quarter, as Haynes found Austin McMahan open for a layup, then hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 51-43. Gizzi then hit a 3-pointer and a basket, followed by a 3-pointer and a steal-and-score from Haynes to push the lead to 18. The early part of the game was back-and-forth. Gizzi scored four first-quarter points, but a Zionsville run gave the Eagles a five-point lead before Haynes drilled a late 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 12-10 after a quarter. In the second, the Dragons built a four-point lead, fueled by seven points from Gizzi and a pair of hoops from Haynes, but Zionsville's Maguire Mitchell got hot from deep and scored 13 points in the frame to rally them to a lead. Ben Slagley hit a shot from a difficult angle at the second-quarter buzzer to tie the game at 29-29 going into the third. Haynes scored five early points in the third, but two Zionsville 3-pointers allowed the Eagles to briefly take the lead before the Dragons went on their run. Gizzi led the Dragons with 28 points, scoring 17 after halftime and 10 in the final quarter. Haynes added 12 of his 19 points after the break. Darrah scored eight points. Slagley tallied all six of his points in the second quarter. Both Keagan Harrison and McMahan scored two each. Mitchell led Zionsville with 23 points, but was held to six after halftime. The Dragons (3-1) are next in action Friday at home against New Castle.