New Palestine High School

Through the first two weeks of the season, the New Palestine basketball team proved it can outscore teams. Friday night in New Castle, the Dragons won a game with their defense, holding the hosts without a basket for the first half of the fourth quarter in a 51-43 victory over the host Trojans. The Dragons (4-1, 2-0 HHC) won their third straight game. They spoiled a milestone celebration for New Castle, as it was the 1,000th game played in the 8,424-seat fieldhouse, which opened in 1959. The Dragons led for much of the night, and had a 43-35 lead going into the final frame, when they switched to a 2-3 zone. It held New Castle without a field goal for the first four minutes of the quarter, as the Trojans settled for multiple long 3-point attempts. However, the Dragons didn’t score during that time. A volleyball-line triple by New Castle’s Braylen Bennett cut NP’s lead to 43-39. But the Dragons had an answer. Sam Hirschy, NP’s 6-foot-4 center, finished through a double-team with two players grabbing his arms. He was unable to complete the three-point play, but it gave the Dragons a six-point edge with three minutes left. After forcing a turnover, the Dragons ran clock before Will Davison hit a volleyball-line 3-pointer to push the lead to 48-39. After another stop, Evan Darrah pushed the lead to 10 before New Castle hit a basket. Darrah hit another basket to help finish off the game. Davison finished with 20 points, scoring 14 in the second half. He jump-started the Dragons after halftime, scoring two quick baskets to turn a 29-20 halftime edge into a 13-point lead, which would be NP’s biggest of the night. NP took command in the last half of the first quarter. The teams traded baskets early, but with the Dragons leading 6-5, Eli Parrett hit a 3-pointer. Hirschy followed with a basket, and then Davison hit the first of his three 3-pointers on the night for an 8-0 run that put NP up nine - an advantage they’d never relinquish. The Dragons held that lead after one, extended it to 11 on the first possession of the second quarter as Liam Atkinson scored the Dragons’ first five points of the quarter, and built it to 29-20 at the half when Parrett hit a runner in the lane. In the third, Davison’s four quick points made it a 33-20 game, but NC answered with a 3-pointer by Maddox Melton and a three-point play by Mason Miller, cutting the lead to seven. Another 3-pointer by Miller cut the lead to six at 35-29, but Evan Study hit a big 3-pointer to answer. Davison added another triple to give him 11 points in the frame, but another late 3-pointer by New Castle cut the lead to eight going into the fourth. Miller scored eight of his team-high 20 points in the third quarter, but was held to two in the fourth. Davison was the Dragons’ lone double-figure scorer, but they got contributions from throughout the lineup. Six players scored. Darrah had nine points. Parrett scored eight - all in the first half. Hirschy tallied six points. Atkinson scored five and Study three. The Dragons continue their weekend Saturday at Franklin Central, with a 5:30 p.m. varsity tipoff.