New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team competes in tonight's sectional final at Shelbyville. (10/3A 3A) New Palestine Dragons (23-3) vs. Roncalli Royals (16-8) Time: 7 p.m. Location: Garrett Gym, Shelbyville Tickets: $7, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=115031 Audio: NewPalRadio.com SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons seek their 12th sectional title in school history tonight, and their first-ever three-peat, as they face Roncalli at Garrett Gym in Shelbyville. Roncalli last won a sectional in 2011. This is the Dragons’ 28th all-time sectional championship game appearance in 108 IHSAA tournament appearances. They are 4-2 in title games under coach Trent Whitaker, and are appearing in a championship game for the fourth consecutive season and seventh time in eight years. This is the second all-time tourney meeting between the schools. The Dragons dropped a 41-40 decision in the 2003 sectional semifinal at Greenfield-Central. NP trails the all-time series 11-7, but has won four straight, including a 64-62 decision Jan. 24. Julius Gizzi tallied 28 points and six boards and Moses Haynes had 13 points. Austin McMahan added nine points and nine boards. Conner Kesler led Roncalli with 20 points in that game. This year marks the 17th time the Dragons have played a sectional at Shelbyville, having also done so from 1969-79 in single-class play, and from 1998-2001 and again in 2008. The Dragons are in Class 3A for the first time since 2017. NP was in 3A from 1998-2011, and again in 2016-17. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons advanced by grinding out a 55-45 victory over Beech Grove in Friday’s semifinal. NP built a 15-7 lead early in the second quarter, but the Hornets battled back and the game was a see-saw tilt through the second half until a free throw by Julius Gizzi, followed by Ben Slagley’s three-point play and two more foul shots by Gizzi gave the Dragons some cushion. They finished the game on a 12-2 run, with Gizzi going 8-8 from the line in the final minute. The Dragons’ defense has been suffocating in the two tournament games. They forced 28 turnovers in each of the two games, including 39 steals. Against Beech Grove, Gizzi tallied 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. He also had four rebounds, five assists - one off his career high - and four steals. Slagley added 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals. Austin McMahan tallied nine points, three rebounds, three assists and five steals. The Dragons tied a school record for most wins in a season Friday. The 2023 team also won 23 games. The Dragons’ senior class is the winningest in school history - they are 87-19 since 2021. Gizzi became the first Dragon to tally 1,700 points Tuesday. He now has 1,728 for his career. He entered the sectional fourth in the state in scoring (26.4 ppg). Haynes extended his school career assists record to 443 and steals record to 141 Friday night. He also holds the single-season assists (188) and steals (63) marks. Against Beech Grove, Slagley played in his 98th career game, breaking Blaine Nunnally’s record for games played in a career. He also moved into 15th place on the NPHS career scoring list (866) and sixth on the single-season assists list (128). He is seventh in career assists (274) and second in blocks (100). At 26.4 ppg entering the sectional, 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 ROYALS Roncalli advanced with a tight 44-42 victory over Greenwood Friday night after beating Shelbyville 69-54 on Wednesday. Juniors Conner Kesler (13.7 ppg) and Joe Taylor (10.9 ppg) lead the Royals. LOOKING AHEAD The sectional winner will face either Tri-West or Guerin Catholic in the regional at a TBA site (Southport, Lebanon, Greenfield-Central or Martinsville). Tip time will be 1 or 4 p.m. 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.