New Palestine’s Damon Hockett (5) battles for the ball against Delta’s Jackson Wors (23) and Clay Bragg (1) in their game at New Palestine High School on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. (Tom Russo/Daily Reporter)
By Paul Gable/For The Daily Reporter
NEW PALESTINE — For the better part of Friday night’s boys basketball contest between New Palestine and Roncalli, it was a one-one-one contest between Dragons’ Steele Brasfield and Royals’ Aiden Leffler.
The two went toe-to-toe for four quarters, but in the end it was New Palestine senior Damon Hockett who stole the show and provided the plays down the stretch to lift the host Dragons to a 67-63 win. With the win, New Palestine improved to 10-4 overall, while Roncalli fell to 4-8.
With just over 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the two teams knotted at 63-63, Hockett took over as he garnered a defensive rebound and was fouled by Roncalli, sending him to the free throw line. Hockett calmly knocked down both shots to give the Dragons a 65-63 advantage.
Moments later, he secured the win with a steal and another pair of free throws, bringing about a huge celebration from the Dragons and a smile from head coach Trent Whitaker. The four points were the only points of the night for Hockett.
“He is a kid that’s very athletic. I wouldn’t call him a basketball player, but he gives us some diversity with what he can do. He is long defensively and can guard a little bit. He just competes every play, and to go 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final seconds is huge for that kid,” Whitaker said of Hockett’s performance.
For Hockett, the win was one the Dragons needed, he said.
“Coach Whitaker told us that the home team has always defended their home court, and it is big. I knew they would shoot that shot, and I just had to get in position and the ball bounced my way,” he said of his big defensive rebound.
As for the ensuing steal on Leffler, Hockett said he had no choice but to get a steal and put an end to Leffler’s drive to the basket.
“I saw Leffler drive to the basket, and I couldn’t let him drive anymore and went for the steal and got it. As for the free throws, I wasn’t nervous because that is the biggest part of what we do in practice. It was simply just get a stop and get a score. It feels really good to get this win,” Hockett said.
Until then, the victory was in question for both teams, as New Palestine and Roncalli went back-and-forth in the fourth quarter with each team trying to steal a win with several runs, as the one-on-one battle between Leffler and Brasfield continued.
With just over four minutes left in the fourth, Leffler, who finished with 26 points, hit a basket and missed a free throw to leave the door open for the Dragons. However, New Palestine was unable to shut it completely until the end of the game.
Leffler kept Roncalli in the game early and often, including three free throws at the end of the first quarter, but midway through the second quarter he would head to the Roncalli bench and the Dragons would take advantage as Brasfield and New Palestine would take a 35-31 lead.
“The last four years, now five, it has been a battle with Roncalli, and the last three times, we have held home court. They are a much different team with Leffler than without him. I am just so proud of our kids. They showed a lot of fight and toughness,” Whitaker said of Roncalli.
As has been the case several times recently, New Palestine benefited from a quick start by Brasfield, who scored 9 of his 27 points in the opening quarter to get the Dragons going.
“Steele did a nice job for us. He again had an aggressive start and it helped settle our guys down,” Whitaker said.
The Dragons, who have now won four of their last five and will host Franklin tonight at 7:30 p.m.
New Palestine 67, Roncalli 63
Roncalli;15;16;18;14;—;63
New Palestine;17;18;9;18;—;67
Roncalli (4-8): Aidan Leffler 9 5-7 26, Nolan Tunny 6 2-2 15, Luke Kegerreis 3 2-2 10, Michael Hegwood 2 0-0 5, Caden Gore 2 0-0 2, Nicholas Stewart 2 0-0 2, Alex Moll 2 0-0 2. Totals: 24 9-11 63.
New Palestine (10-4): Steele Brasfield 10 5-7 27, Blaine Nunnally 4 4-7 13, Ian Stephens 3 2-2 9, Ben Slagley 2 1-2 5, Damon Hockett 0 2-2 4, Bryant Nunnally 1 1-2 3, Eian Roudebush 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 15-22 67.
3-point goals: Roncalli 7 (Leffler 3, Kegerreis 2, Tunney 1); New Palestine 4 (Brasfield 2, Stephens 1, Blaine Nunnally 1).
