RICHMOND — They’ve dreamed about it. They’ve wanted it. They came so close last year but fell just short.
The New Palestine Dragons finally took the next step Saturday night in Richmond, toppling county foe Mt. Vernon, 61-43, to claim their first boys basketball sectional title since 2012.
“This is the kind of things you come to as a little kid and you dream about growing up,” New Palestine junior Maximus Gizzi said. “Finally cutting down this net, especially after they beat us last year… That’s a good freaking team. To be able to beat them like that, to be able to cut down this net is awesome. It’s an amazing feeling.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryWith almost the entire team back from last year’s devastating 60-57 loss, the Dragons certainly hadn’t forgotten what the Marauders did, what they kept them from achieving.
That made Saturday night just a little more special for New Palestine.
“It’s indescribable. Ever since we lost last year, this has been in our minds; this has been our motivation,” junior Dawson Eastes said. “Just seeing them cutting down the nets last year, us getting to do that this year is amazing.”
“We were very dialed in,” senior Matthew True said. “We really wanted this really bad. Last year was a bad taste in our mouth, just to come up short.”
Ever since coach Trent Whitaker took the reins at New Palestine — the freshman year for current Dragons seniors — they’ve been building to this moment.
Each year has been another step closer. Each year they inched closer and closer to their goal of a sectional championship. The win totals have increased each season, from six, to seven, to 15, to now 17.
They’ve advanced one more round each year in the tournament, too. The Dragons were eliminated in the sectional opener by Crispus Attucks in 2016, the semifinal by Chatard in 2017 and the Marauders in the title game a year ago.
“You know what, I just love the smiles on the kids’ faces, just the fact that we get to play another week with this team. I love these guys,” Whitaker said. “This is my fourth year. We took that next step every single year. Got beat on Tuesday, beat on Friday, beat on Saturday, and now I’m climbing the ladder. Every year is one step, and we took it.”
The path to a sectional championship wasn’t easy for New Palestine. They had to get past Hoosier Heritage Conference and county rival Greenfield-Central in the opener, then get revenge against a tough Connersville team that had beaten them just last month.
From there, it was a rematch with the Marauders. For the second time in the past three weeks, New Palestine bested their rivals by double digits.
A five-game losing streak against Mt. Vernon has turned into a two-game winning streak now, and, most importantly, a sectional championship.
“I’m at a loss for words. It’s such an amazing feeling,” Gizzi said. “This is something we’ve been talking about since last year. We knew we wanted to climb this hump and go that next step. That’s kind of been our motto all year — next step, next level, what are we going to do to get there?”
The Dragons took control early on Saturday, leading 8-5 after the first quarter and opening up a 20-14 lead at the half.
Both teams started cold — they combined to shoot 5 of 18 in the first quarter and 12 of 36 in the half — but New Palestine did just enough to open a small lead.
Things changed quickly in the second half. The Marauders finally got hot, with Brandon Bell and Keith Rupert knocking down shots to cut the New Palestine lead to one point.
That’s when New Palestine senior Dylan Romine took over.
Romine led all scorers in the first half with eight points, but when he saw his team’s lead evaporate, he took things to another level.
“We needed a spark right there. Game was getting close, I think it was 24-23. Then it was 34-24 off of Dylan alone,” Gizzi said. “To have that from Dylan … I wasn’t feeling it tonight. Matthew wasn’t feeling it tonight. We kind of know that we’re a balanced team; we can all pick each other up.”
Romine finished the game with 23 points and four rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting, with five made 3-pointers on six attempts.
“Dylan Romine really carried us this game,” Eastes said. “When we saw him getting hot, we wanted to feed him the ball. Once he starts hitting shots, it’s hard to stop him.”
“Our team played well today, and then (Dylan) picked us up real big time,” True said. “It was great to see him shoot the ball as well as he did today. Everyone played so well, with poise, too.”
Whitaker agreed with his players, saying that Romine was “unbelievable” on both ends of the floor. At one point in the third quarter, Romine had scored 23 points himself while the Marauders were at 25 as a team.
The senior was quick to deflect all the credit, though. He praised his teammates for the jobs they did in helping the Dragons win.
“I was just hitting shots. They were making the right passes, making the right plays,” Romine said. “Teammates were getting open and cutting. Just all-around great team win.
“It’s crazy. I’ll never forget something like this. Just at a loss for words right now.”
Eastes had a strong game himself, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds. True and Gizzi, the team’s two leading scorers during the regular season, combined for 11 points on 2-of-17 shooting. Jack Walker added three points and Luke Ramsey and Jacob Hockett each had two for the Dragons.
The Marauders were led by 11 points from Keith Rupert and nine from Brandon Bell. Freshman Amhad Jarrard had five. Peyton Meadors, Cade Gentry and Ryan Morris each had four, and Drew Walker and Armon Jarrard each had a late-game 3-pointer.
With the loss, the high-school careers of Mt. Vernon’s Meadors, Gentry, Rupert and Max Burhenn came to a close, one year after winning a sectional championship together.
The victors now move on into the regional round, where a 10 a.m. matchup with Avon awaits on Saturday at Southport High School. The winner of that game will face either Lawrence Central or Ben Davis, who face off at noon, in the 8 p.m. championship game.
“It’s so special for us just to come out and play another day and not end today,” True said. “It’s special for us.”
It’s extra special for New Palestine’s six seniors — True, Romine, Ramsey, Walker, Hockett and Justin Rightley — who get at least one more week together.
“They just play so well together and they just want to win,” Whitaker said of his team. “We talk about climbing the ladder, and we did it tonight.”
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New Palestine 61, Mt. Vernon 43
New Palestine;8;12;17;24;—;61
Mt. Vernon;5;9;10;19;—;43
New Palestine (17-8): Maximus Gizzi 2 4-4 8, Matthew True 0 3-4 3, Dawson Eastes 7 4-5 19, Dylan Romine 6 6-6 23, Kyle King 0 0-0 0, Maxen Hook 0 1-4 1, Eric Roudebush 0 0-0 0, Jack Walker 1 1-2 3, Luke Ramsey 1 0-0 2, Jacob Hockett 0 2-2 2. Totals: 17 21-26 61.
Mt. Vernon (11-12): Peyton Meadors 1 2-2 4, Cade Gentry 1 2-4 4, Keith Rupert 5 0-0 11, Brandon Bell 3 2-3 9, Ryan Morris 1 2-4 4, Max Burhenn 0 0-0 0, Amhad Jarrard 2 1-3 5, Eric Heard 0 0-0 0, Drew Walker 1 0-0 3, Armon Jarrard 1 0-0 3. Totals: 15 9-16 43.
3-point goals: New Palestine 6 (Romine 5, Eastes), Mt. Vernon 4 (Bell, Rupert, Walker, Armon Jarrard).
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