New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team opens sectional play tonight at Shelbyville against Rushville. New Palestine Dragons (21-3) vs. Rushville Lions (5-18) Time: 6 p.m. Site: Garrett Gym, Shelbyville Tickets: $8, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=115028 Audio: NewPalRadio.com SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons open their 108th IHSAA Tournament with a game against the Rushville Lions at Shelbyville. This year marks the 17th time the Dragons will play a sectional at Shelbyville, having also done so from 1969-79 in single-class play, and from 1998-2001 and again in 2008 in the class era. The Dragons have also played in the Shelbyville regional three times. The Dragons are in Class 3A for the first time since 2017. NP was in 3A from 1998-2011, and again in 2016-17. The Dragons have won two 3A sectional titles, in 2009 and 2011. The Dragons are seeking their 12th sectional title in school history. They enter having won back-to-back sectional championships in 2023 and 2024, and four titles in the last six seasons dating to 2019. NP holds a 26-12 lead in the all-time series against Rushville and has won 13 straight meetings dating to 2011. The Dragons have won both postseason meetings, in the 2000 and 2001 Shelbyville sectional tourneys. NP won the last meeting, 70-32 on Dec. 2, 2023. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons finished a 21-3 regular season last week to clinch their third straight 20-win season and their fourth in school history. The Dragons’ record for wins in a season is 23, set in 2023 when the Dragons went 23-3. The Dragons’ senior class is the winningest in school history - they are 85-19 since 2021. The Dragons ended the regular season with a 67-60 overtime win over Warren Central. Julius Gizzi scored four points in the last 50 seconds to lead the Dragons back from a late deficit. It marked the Dragons’ third victory this season when trailing by multiple possessions in the final minute. The Dragons then scored on every possession in OT, starting with a Ben Slagley basket and finishing with 13-of-16 free throw shooting in the extra session. Gizzi scored 30 points on 7-13 from the floor and 16-22 from the line, and added six rebounds. Slagley had seven points, four rebounds, four steals and seven assists. Moses Haynes added 11 points and four assists. Austin McMahan and Evan Darrah scored eight each. Gizzi became the Dragons’ all-time leading basketball scorer Thursday night, when he improved his total to 1,682, passing his sister Isabella (1,676). The duo is one of six sibling pairs statewide to hold both of their schools’ scoring records. Haynes extended his school career assists record to 434 and steals record to 135 last week. He needs three assists to tie his own single-season mark of 182. Slagley tallied his 100th career blocked shot last week. He and John Allison are the only two Dragons to reach that milestone. When he steps on the floor in his next game, Slagley will tie Blaine Nunnally’s record for games played in a career with 97. The Dragons have posted 10 double-doubles this season. Haynes, Gizzi and Slagley have three each - one of Slagley’s is a triple-double and another is a rebounds/assists double-double. Both of Haynes’ are points/assists double-doubles. McMahan has one. At 26.4 ppg entering, Gizzi is fourth in the state in scoring and second in the HHC. At 7.5 apg, Haynes is fifth in the state and first in the HHC in assists. Slagley leads the HHC in blocked shots (1.3 bpg). SCOUTING THE LIONS Rushville enters having won two of its last three games, including a 58-49 Thursday victory over North Decatur. The Lions are led by junior Clayton Chase (8.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg), sophomore Zy Adams (7.3 ppg) and senior Xxzavien Jenkins (7.3 ppg). LOOKING AHEAD The winner will face Beech Grove at 6 p.m. Friday in the first semifinal at Shelbyville. FOLLOW THE DRAGONS All Dragons games, home and away, are broadcast at NewPalRadio.com. The Dragons are also on Facebook and Instagram (@newpalestinedragons) and X (@NPHSDragons), and can be found online at NewPalestineAthletics.com. Photo credit: Aaron Smith