Basketball Game Preview: New Palestine Dragons vs. Lawrenceburg Tigers

The New Palestine Dragons and the Lawrenceburg Tigers will round out the year against one another at at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. New Palestine knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past six contests -- so hopefully Lawrenceburg likes a good challenge.

Last Saturday, everything came up roses for New Palestine against Franklin Central as the squad secured a 69-38 victory. The Dragons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matches by 27 points or more this season.

New Palestine relied on the efforts of Julius Gizzi, who went 10 for 20 on his way to 27 points, and Moses Haynes, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten assists. The game was Gizzi's eighth in a row with at least ten points. Will Davison was another key player, putting up eight points.

Meanwhile, Lawrenceburg played a tough contest on Saturday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by Greenfield-Central and fell 74-44. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 98th, while the Cougars are ranked 13th).

New Palestine's win was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 73.8 points per game. As for Lawrenceburg, their loss ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 5-2.