New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team staged a furious fourth-quarter rally Friday, trimming what had been a 21-point deficit to four, but they ultimately fell short in a 71-59 loss to Mt. Vernon. The Dragons saw their 13-game winning streak end and fell to 20-3 on the season. It was the Dragons' Senior Night and the final home game for Julius Gizzi, Keagan Harrison, Moses Haynes, Austin McMahan and Ben Slagley, the winningest senior class in school history. What was hoped to be a fitting sendoff for the senior quintet instead found the home team struggling early, as they fell behind 11-6 after a quarter - the fourth consecutive game in which they have trailed after eight minutes. In the second, a three-point play by Gizzi and a 3-pointer by Darrah gave the Dragons a 12-11 lead, but MV answered, as the officials ruled Luke Ertel was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. He hit all three free throws, giving the Marauders a lead they would not relinquish. Foul trouble further plagued the Dragons, who saw MV go on a 22-7 spurt to take a 33-19 lead. Ertel scored 10 points in the run and had 19 at halftime. Gizzi hit a runner in the lane for his ninth point to close the deficit to 12 at halftime. However, MV opened the second half with nine straight points to push the lead to 42-21 and it appeared the Dragons were on the verge of a lopsided defeat. However, they found their 3-point shooting - Haynes hit a triple, followed by a Gizzi basket to cut the deficit to 42-26. NP later cut the deficit to 13 late in the quarter before giving up a basket at the end of the frame to put MV up 49-34. In the fourth, the Dragons found themselves behind 53-36 with six minutes left when they started to mount a comeback. Gizzi hit a shot inside and McMahan scored off an inbounds pass. Slagley stole a pass and fed Gizzi for a layup to cut the deficit to 53-42. MV called timeout and scored four quick points off layups to push the lead to 15, but the Dragons wouldn't go away. Haynes hit a 3-pointer, and the Dragons' half-court trap forced another turnover. Gizzi scored in transition and completed the three-point play to get NP within 57-48. A steal by Darrah led to another Gizzi triple that cut the deficit to 57-51, and Slagley followed with a steal and coast-to-coast finish to cap an 11-0 run that brought NP within four with two and a half minutes left. But the Marauders were again able to score, get a stop, score again to push the lead to eight, and the Dragons could not get it within six the remainder of the way. MV hit 12-of-16 from the line in the fourth quarter to help put the game away. The Dragons outscored MV from the field - as each team hit 23 field goals and NP hit seven 3-pointers to MV's three, but MV was 22-27 from the line, while the Dragons were 6-6. Gizzi scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and 21 in the second half, finishing with 30 in his final home game. That improved his career total to 1,652. Haynes added 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Slagley scored seven, McMahan six, Darrah three and Harrison two. Ertel led MV with 26 points, with 19 coming in the first half. Max Vise added 17, scoring 13 in the second half. The Dragons finish the regular season Thursday at Warren Central. The Dragons won the JV game 68-49 - rallying from an early 18-point deficit to dominate the rest of the contest.