The Mt. Vernon Marauders are taking a road trip to challenge the New Palestine Dragons at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Mt. Vernon sitting on three straight victories and New Palestine on 13.
Last Saturday, Mt. Vernon made easy work of Southport and carried off a 67-43 win. Given the Marauders' advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked fifth, while the Cardinals are ranked 70th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Luke Ertel was his usual excellent self, going 10-for-17 en route to 33 points and three steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Mt. Vernon's points. Elijah Parra was another key player, putting up 12 points.
Mt. Vernon was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Southport only racked up four assists.
Meanwhile, New Palestine got the win against Shelbyville on Friday by a conclusive 63-42. The Dragons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 20 points or more this season.
New Palestine's win came from a few key players Mt. Vernon will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Julius Gizzi, who dropped a double-double with 20 points and ten boards. He is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in each of the last 24 games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was Ben Slagley, who went 6-for-10 to rack up 13 points and six rebounds.
New Palestine's victory was their ninth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 20-2. As for Mt. Vernon, their record is now 15-4.
Friday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Mt. Vernon has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 36.2% of their three-pointers per game. However, it's not like New Palestine struggles in that department as they've made 36% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Mt. Vernon couldn't quite finish off New Palestine when the teams last played back in February of 2024 and fell 58-56. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Gizzi, who went 6-for-10 on his way to 21 points in addition to eight boards and six assists. Now that Mt. Vernon knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
