NEW PALESTINE — With one of the highest-scoring teams in the state in town, New Palestine had to crank up a little offense of its own.
The Class 4A Dragons not only had their strongest offensive output of the season, they slowed down a 3A Indianapolis Herron team that came in averaging 76.93 points per contest, which ranked 10th-best in the state.
New Palestine (10-5) outscored Herron 30-10 in the second quarter on its way to a resounding 89-58 win at New Palestine High School on Wednesday.
The Dragons had scored more than 80 points only one other time, an 82-75 overtime victory over New Castle at home on Dec. 18. The top-regulation total came in a 77-50 win at Benton Central on Dec. 22.
“The biggest thing we have been working on is having confidence in everything we do,” New Palestine head coach Trent Whitaker said. “When you start hitting shots it’s a little bit easier to play defense. Our kids did a nice job of keeping the basketball in front of us.
“We knew Herron wanted to run, and we were not afraid to run with them. We knocked down a few shots early and then just settled in.”
After a tightly-played first quarter it was all Dragons in the second.
New Palestine shot 73.3 percent (11 of 15) in the quarter, including three of its four 3-point attempts. The Dragons led 49-25 at the half and were shooting 56.3 percent (18 of 32) at the break, including 6 of 10 (60 percent) from 3-point distance.
Junior Steele Brasfield had a game-high 23 points. He had 20 in the first half, with 11 in the second quarter.
On the defensive side, the high-flying Achaeans were grounded.
They hit just 16.6 percent from the field (2 of 12) in the second period. Senior Ty Brown, who came in averaging 23.2 points per game, had just 13 before fouling out. Matt Ray, Herron’s second-leading scorer at 18.8 per contest, had 10, and only four in the first half.
Following Brasfield, starting senior center Matt Brown scored 15, but the Dragons also got a lot of help from their bench.
Eleven of the 12 Dragons that played scored. New Palestine got 34 points from its subs, including 11 in the first-half in helping decide the outcome.
Senior Kyle Bastian was the only other double-digit scorer. Coming off the bench, he hit two in a row after missing his first two 3-point attempts. He finished with 10 points.
Also off the bench, Ian Stephens scored seven, five in the second quarter. Damon Hockett had six. Luke Burgess added five and Jaret Whitaker and Eian Roudebush had four and two, respectively.
“With having three games in one week we treated it like a sectional week,” Whitaker said. “Last night we had a tough game with Warren Central, and tonight we knew it was going to be up-and-down. Guys like Kyle Bastian did a great job. He came in and had some confidence and was assertive. He took the next step tonight and we hope that continues.
Ian Stephens did a nice job, as well, controlling things defensively.”
Coach Whitaker also noted center Brown and Burgess doing a solid job protecting the rim.
The Dragons got eight points each from starting guards Blaine Nunnally and C.J. Oliver. Starter Eli Stephens had the Dragons other point.
“It was a great team win,” Whitaker added. “It all started with our JV game (a convincing 98-35 win). Our varsity kids were into that game and pulling for the JV kids. You can sometimes tell when you walk into the gym if your kids are locked in and our kids were locked in tonight. That’s what we are looking to go forward the next month getting ready for the sectional.”
It was an odd second night of back-to-back games. Usually slated for Friday and Saturday nights, this time the Dragons were playing on a Tuesday-Wednesday, prior to a key Hoosier Heritage Conference game on Friday.
New Palestine lost to IBCA (Indiana Basketball Coaches Association) No. 12 Warren Central on Tuesday and improved to 5-1 on the second game of back-to-backs with Wednesday’s victory. The win over Herron was New Pal’s fourth straight second-night win.
“I think the best thing about this team right now is they’re excited for one another,” coach Whitaker added.
Herron dropped to 10-5 on the season.
