New Palestine High School

Friday was a record-setting night for the New Palestine boys basketball team. Julius Gizzi broke the school scoring record with a 3-pointer in the second quarter, while Moses Haynes later broke the school assists mark. They helped lead the Dragons to pull away to a 63-42 victory at Shelbyville. The Dragons improved to 20-2 - the fourth 20-win season in school history and third consecutive - with their 13th straight win. They are now 5-1 in Hoosier Heritage Conference play. Both entered the game 10 away from their respective school records. Gizzi scored 20 points to give him 1,622 for his career - breaking the mark of 1,612 held by his older brother Maximus Gizzi since 2020. Haynes' 12 assists give him 425 for his career, breaking a mark set by Blaine Nunnally in 2023. He also had five steals, giving him 53 for the season, breaking his single-season record of 51 set last year. Haynes is also the school's career steals leader with 131. The Dragons again started slowly, as they trailed after a quarter for the third consecutive game. Shelbyville built a 13-8 lead after one, despite Gizzi scoring six points. But the Dragons opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run to go up 18-15. Austin McMahan helped lead the spurt, as he scored six points in the run. Shelbyville responded to tie the game at 20-20, but the Dragons finished the half on an 8-2 run, as McMahan scored another basket to put the Dragons on top, followed by a Keagan Harrison free throw and a 3-pointer and two free throws by Gizzi. The triple pushed him into the school scoring record. The Dragons gradually pulled ahead in the third quarter. Gizzi and Slagley opened with baskets and Evan Darrah followed with a 3-pointer. Slagley and Gizzi scored four points each in the frame, as NP outscored the hosts 13-7 to build a 41-29 lead going into the fourth. NP had a big fourth quarter, with Darrah scoring seven points, Slagley four and McMahan a three-point play as the Dragons broke the game open, outscoring the hosts 22-13. Gizzi led the way with 20 points, his 20th 20-point game of the season. He added 10 rebounds for a double-double. He led four Dragons in double-figures. Slagley added 13 points, McMahan 11 and Darrah 10. Slagley and McMahan also had seven rebounds each. Haynes added four points, five steals and 12 assists. Will Davison scored three points, while Harrison tallied two. Mar Nicholson scored 14 points for Shelbyville, with half coming in the fourth quarter. Damon Badgley led the Bears through the first three quarters, scoring 11 points. The Dragons' JV won 50-40 and the freshmen won 49-35 for a program sweep of the evening. The Dragons are next in action Friday, Feb. 21 against Mt. Vernon. It will be NP's Senior Night.