New Palestine High School

For the first time in school history, the New Palestine boys basketball team will compete in the semistate. The Dragons will face Brownstown Central at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Southport Fieldhouse. CLASS 3A SEMISTATE: (3) New Palestine Dragons (25-3) vs. (4) Brownstown Central Braves (24-2) Time: 10 a.m. Saturday Location: Southport Fieldhouse Tickets: $12 + fees, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=119318&p=183885 Audio: NewPalRadio.com (free) Video: IHSAAtv.org ($) CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: New Palestine/Brownstown Central vs. Princeton/Crispus Attucks Time: 8 p.m. Venue: Southport Fieldhouse Tickets: $12 + fees, https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=119319 (Note: There is no all-session ticket this year, separate tickets must be purchased for each session) Audio: NewPalRadio.com (free) Video: IHSAAtv.org ($) SETTING THE SCENE For the first time in school history, the Dragons are headed to the semistate, but they’re doing so at a familiar venue. They face Brownstown Central in the 10 a.m. game at the Southport semistate, with the winner facing either Princeton or Crispus Attucks. This semistate field is a deep one: it is the only one of the eight IHSAA semistates where all four teams are ranked in the USA Today Network Top 10. The Dragons are seeking their first-ever boys basketball trip to the State Finals. They have made 16 championship-game trips in other sports, including eight in softball (winning six titles), six in football (winning four) and two in baseball (winning one). The basketball team is seeking to become the fourth NPHS athletic team to advance to an IHSAA State Finals this season, joining the state champion football team, as well as the girls golf and gymnastics squads. Cheer also won a state title. The Dragons’ first-round opponent, Brownstown Central, is the defending 2A state champion. The Braves have appeared in three straight semistates. Princeton won a title in 2009. Crispus Attucks won championships in 1955, 1956, 1959 and 2017. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons clinched the regional title by beating Guerin Catholic 63-49 - their second win over the Golden Eagles this season - at the Greenfield-Central regional. The state’s fourth-leading scorer, Julius Gizzi, had another big game with 28 points and nine rebounds. Ben Slagley continued his strong play with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Moses Haynes had eight points and seven assists. Austin McMahan tallied eight points and four boards. Gizzi was named the IBCA Player of the Week for the second time this season after his regional performance. Defensively, the Dragons held Guerin Catholic to 33% shooting for the game. NP led from wire-to-wire in the contest, jumping out to leads of 8-0, 10-1 and 22-8. Guerin never cut the lead below seven points the rest of the way. Slagley has put together a strongn all-around tourney, with 16 points - one shy of his season high - in both the sectional final and the regional. In his last three games, he is averaging 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. The Dragons have forced an average of 20.5 turnovers in four tourney games. The Dragons have set a school record for most wins in a season, breaking the mark set by the 2023 team of 23 wins. The Dragons’ senior class is the winningest in school history - they are 89-19 since 2021. Gizzi needs 19 points to become the first Dragon to tally 1,800 points. He now has 1,781 for his career. He entered the tourney fourth in the state in scoring (26.4 ppg). Haynes has extended his school career assists record to 456 and steals record to 144. He became the first Dragon with 200 assists in a season Saturday, and has 201. He also holds the single-season steals (66) mark. Slagley played in his 100th career game in the regional, the first Dragon to do so. He also has moved into 15th place on the NPHS career scoring list (898) and sixth on the single-season assists list (134). He is seventh in career assists (280), fifth in rebounds (599) and second in blocks (101). Haynes entered the tournament fifth in the state in assists (7.5 apg). LOOKING AHEAD The regional winner will advance to next Saturday's State Finals. The Class 3A game will be at 6 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. FOLLOW THE DRAGONS All Dragons games are broadcast at NewPalRadio.com. The Dragons are also on Facebook and Instagram (@newpalestinedragons), X (@NPHSDragons), and can be found online at NewPalestineAthletics.com.