New Palestine High School

The New Palestine boys basketball team fell behind early Saturday afternoon, but stormed back to take the lead in the second quarter and pulled away to a 77-64 home victory over Southport. The Class 3A No. 4 Dragons improved to 18-2 with their 11th straight victory, their fourth straight by double digits. A talented Southport team jumped on the Dragons at the start, scoring the game's first seven points. Austin McMahan answered with a three-point play, but the Cardinals responded with a three-point play of their own to go up 10-3. The Dragons battled back to within 14-12, with Evan Darrah hitting a 3-pointer and Julius Gizzi scoring four points, but a contested 3-pointer by Southport's Christian Webster at the first-quarter buzzer made it a 17-12 game. But the Dragons responded quickly. Will Davison hit a 3-pointer and Moses Haynes a basket to tie the game, and the two repeated their efforts on the next two possessions to cap a 10-0 run and put the Dragons up 22-17. Southport battled back to tie the game at 30-30 with a strong inside game - and with both McMahan and Ben Slagley on the bench with foul trouble. Keagan Harrison played tremendously inside defending the taller Cardinals, scoring four points in the frame. A pair of free throws and a late basket by Gizzi broke the tie and gave the Dragons a 34-30 lead at the break. The Dragons then broke it open in the third, opening the half with a 15-2 run to build a 45-32 lead. McMahan tallied two baskets and Harrison one in the run, while Haynes' 3-pointer brought a Southport timeout. The Dragons kept adding on, as Gizzi scored seven of the Dragons' next 13 points to tally a nine-point quarter and help the Dragons build a 58-44 lead through three. McMahan scored six in the frame and Slagley four. Haynes opened the fourth with a basket to push the lead to 16, but Southport immediately answered with a 9-0 run to cut the Dragons' advantage to 60-53. With five minutes left, Haynes answered it with an open 3-pointer off an offensive rebound by the Dragons. Another stop and a three-point play from Gizzi followed, pushing the edge to 66-53. Southport would not get the lead inside single digits the rest of teh way. Gizzi scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. Haynes added 13, with nine coming after halftime. McMahan tallied 11 points for his second straight double-figure game. Harrison added eight - one off his career high. Darrah scored seven, while Slagley and Davison tallied six each. Southport was led by guards Tyreese Burnett and Webster, who had 15 points each. They combined for 17 first-quarter points and were held to 13 total points the rest of the way. The Cardinals ahd four double-figure scorers. The Dragons also won the JV game 60-29. The Dragons next play Tuesday at home against Guerin Catholic.