New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team returns to action tonight with a home game against Delta. FRIDAY: DELTA EAGLES (4-5, 1-1 HHC) at NEW PALESTINE DRAGONS (5-5, 2-0 HHC) Time: 6:30 p.m. JV/F, 8 p.m. V Site: New Palestine HS Tickets: $7, at gate or https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=166149 Audio: NewPalRadio.com Video: IHSAAtv.org/newpalestine ($) SETTING THE SCENE The Dragons return home for the first time since Dec. 12, as they meet Delta and resume Hoosier Heritage Conference play. The Dragons enter the game having dropped four of their last five, while Delta has won three of its last four games after a 1-4 start. The Dragons lead the all-time series 16-14. They have met as conference foes every year since 1996-97. NP has won four straight meetings, including a 69-56 road victory last year. This will be the second-to-last meeting as conference opponents between the Dragons and Eagles. Delta is leaving to join the Eastern Crossroads Conference in 2027. DRAGONS NOTES The Dragons went 1-3 in the Ray Furney Classic at Lawrenceburg over two days last weekend, finishing 10th in the 12-team tournament. The Dragons had a number of outstanding individual performances. In their 80-53 victory over Castle on Saturday, the Dragons hit 14 3-pointers - including five from Evan Darrah, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half. Will Davison tallied 23 points in the victory. In that contest, point guard Eli Parrett had 12 assists - the most for a Dragon since Moses Haynes tallied 13 on Valentine’s Day 2025 at Shelbyville.As a team, the Dragons had 22 assists on 32 made baskets. Meanwhile, the Dragons had contributions from the bench over the weekend. Evan Study tied his career high with eight points against Castle. Kade Stephens also set his career high with seven against Castle. Against Harrison, Carson Rush netted his career high with eight points, and was second to Davison on the team in scoring. In Friday’s action, Davison tallied the second 30-point game of his career, He had 16 second-quarter points to tally the Dragons to a double-digit halftime lead against Ritter, and finished with 31. He hit 10-of-10 from the line and 9-of-18 from the floor. Darrah tallied 21 - the third time both players have tallied 20 points in a game this season. Davison then scored 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting that afternoon against Fort Wayne Blackhawk. At 21.9 ppg, Davison is second in the HHC and 25th in the state in scoring. He is fourth in the state among sophomores. Darrah is seventh at 14.4 ppg. Davison has hit double-figures in nine of the Dragons’ 10 games this season and has tallied 20-plus points seven times. Darrah has hit double-figures eight times and the 20-point mark in seven games. Parrett ranks second in the HHC in assists at 5.4 per game. SCOUTING THE EAGLES Delta enters with a 4-5 mark, but has won three of its last four, including finishing as the runner-up to unbeaten Fort Wayne South - on a last-second shot - in the eight-team Delta Invitational over the holiday break. Delta’s balanced offense has four players averaging between 6.8-10.5 ppg, led by senior Lucas Bragg (10.5 ppg). Chase Phillips adds 8.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg, while Ryan Lynch tallies 8.3 ppg. COMING UP The Dragons begin a run of four out of five games at home tonight. This is the Dragons’ last single-game weekend until Feb. 7, when they face Southport in an afternoon game. Next week, they host Pendleton Heights and visit Avon - which will be the Dragons’ first-ever visit to Avon. FOLLOW THE GAMES All games, home and away, are broadcast at NewPalRadio.com. Home games are also simulcast on a pay-per-view basis on IHSAAtv.org. NPHS athletics is online (NewPalestineAthletics.com), on X (@NPHSDragons), Facebook and Instagram (@newpalestinedragons) Photo credit: Addie Van Dam