New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team will celebrate senior night Friday as it hosts Greenwood for the regular season finale. It's the final tune-up before the Dragons head to Muncie for next week's sectional. Friday New Palestine Dragons (20-2) vs. Greenwood Woodmen (8-13) Time: 6 p.m. JV, 7:30 p.m. V Site: NPHS Tickets: $6, available at the door or online at https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=30062 Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: https://www.IHSAAtv.org/NewPalestine ($) SETTING THE SCENE The Hoosier Heritage Conference champion Dragons celebrate Senior Night with their final game of the regular season, in what has become a traditional contest against Greenwood. This is the 20th consecutive year the Dragons and Woodmen have played each other in the regular season finale. This is the final home game for six Dragons seniors - Kendall Hill, Blaine Nunnally, Bryant Nunnally, Eian Roudebush, Ian Stephens and Daniel Tippit. In their four years in the program, they have compiled a 67-30 record and won two HHC championships and a sectional title. This is the 49th known meeting between the schools. The Dragons have won eight of the last nine meetings, including a 46-33 contest last season, and have won 15 of the last 17 since 2006. The teams have played annually since 1984-85. The Dragons are ranked in the IBCA poll for the eighth consecutive week, coming in at No. 14, one spot below their ranking last week. This is the second 20-win season in school history. A Dragons win would tie the school record for most wins in a season. The 1988-89 team went 21-3. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons enter this week’s game having won back-to-back contests by almost-identical scores - 66-52 over Mt. Vernon and 66-50 at Whiteland. Blaine Nunnally is closing in on a milestone, as he has 1,199 career points. One point will make him the third player in school history to reach 1,200. Last week, he became the first Dragon to reach the 400 assists plateau and now has 404 for his career. Blaine Nunnally will play his 94th career game next time he steps onto the court, tying 2020 graduate Maximus Gizzi for the most games played as a Dragon. In the victory over MV, Stephens had a big night with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He scored 12 in the opening quarter. He also had nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Blaine Nunnally added 17 points, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter, and a career high-tying nine assists. Ben Slagley added 13 points and six rebounds. The Dragons had 19 assists on 23 made baskets in the MV contest. Against Whiteland, Blaine Nunnally scored 21 points to lead four players in double figures. He also added four assists. Stephens tallied 14 points, while Slagley had 11 points and five boards. Julius Gizzi also tallied 11 points. Blaine Nunnally has tallied 20-plus points in three of the Dragons’ last four games. Stephens is closing in on a few milestones. He has 487 career rebounds and needs 13 to not just reach 500, but also move into the top five on the career rebounding chart. He has 87 career steals and needs four to also move into the top five in that category. He has 32 blocked shots and needs two to move into the top five. Slagley currently ranks fifth in career blocks with 34. Nunnally is third in the HHC in scoring at 17.7 ppg, with Stephens ranking seventh (16.1 ppg). Stephens (8.0) and Slagley (6.9) rank first and third in rebounding. Nunnally leads the league and ranks 21st in the state in assists (5.3 apg), with Moses Haynes eighth in the HHC (2.5 apg). Stephens ranks seventh in steals (1.4 spg). Slagley is second in blocked shots (0.9 bpg). SCOUTING THE WOODMEN Greenwood enters this game off a 56-43 Tuesday win over Indian Creek, snapping a four-in-five skid. The Woodmen are one of the area’s top defensive teams, allowing 46.8 ppg, while scoring 40.1 ppg. LOOKING AHEAD The Dragons drew a bye in next week’s Muncie Central sectional. They will face either Richmond or Pendleton Heights in the 6 p.m. semifinal Friday, March 3, with the winner playing in the championship game the next night.