Game Report: Lawrence North 59 New Palestine 58

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite having to be postponed from its original date due to inclement weather, this Class 4A Top 10 matchup had a great crowd on hand Monday evening. Originally scheduled to tip-off last Wednesday night, the New Palestine versus Lawrence North game was moved because of snow in the central Indiana area. However, it still lived up to the hype on Monday night as the host Dragons, ranked #8 in the Prep Hoops Indiana Class 4A poll, put their undefeated 15-0 record to the test against the #10 ranked 12-3 Wildcats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Palestine got off to a fast start thanks to the activity of senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1295323' first='Ian' last='Stephens'] and a spark off of the bench from sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1539484' first='Moses' last='Haynes']. A Stephens basket with 1:09 left in the opening quarter gave the Dragons a 16-7 advantage, but standout freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1729136' first='Brennan' last='Miller'] answered with a three-pointer to cut Lawrence North's first period deficit to 16-10. The next eight minutes were more of the same as the pace of the game remained high. Haynes continued to provide quality minutes for New Pal, Stephens stepped out and hit a three-pointer, and senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1160679' first='Blaine' last='Nunnally'] got to the basket a couple of times as well. For the Wildcats, senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1224253' first='Mase' last='Hughes'] scored seven points in the period, freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='2414688' first='Christian' last='Webster'] provided a scoring punch off of the bench, and junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1158213' first='Kobi' last='Bowles'] kept getting to the rim consistently. The Dragons took a 31-25 lead into the halftime break.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The script started to flip in the second half as the Wildcats guards really stepped up in the absence of their leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1296979' first='Azavier' last='Robinson']. [player_tooltip player_id='1275769' first='Myles' last='Baker'], [player_tooltip player_id='935741' first='Ty' last='Cunningham'], [player_tooltip player_id='1158217' first='Miles' last='Good'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1158213' first='Kobi' last='Bowles'] all made key shots in the period to get Lawrence North on top 45-41. It was a three-pointer from Baker that first tied the game at 39-39 with about 2:00 minutes remaining in the third. For the next 10 minutes of play it would be an exciting, back-and-forth affair.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fourth quarter of this game was one of the more exciting stretches of basketball we have seen this season. New Palestine came out of the gates and quickly tied the game at 45 a piece after a pair of free throws from Haynes. Then, [player_tooltip player_id='1275769' first='Myles' last='Baker'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1539483' first='Ben' last='Slagley'] traded buckets on two straight possessions. Baker hit a three-pointer, and Slagley answered with an And-1. Baker scored again, but Slagley answered with another And-1 to make it 51-50 Dragons with 2:16 to play. It was [player_tooltip player_id='1158213' first='Kobi' last='Bowles']' turn to respond this time for the Wildcats and he put LN on top for what would prove to be the go-ahead basket with two minutes left to play. [player_tooltip player_id='1158217' first='Miles' last='Good'] added a three-pointer with 1:28 to make it 55-51, but New Palestine simply wouldn't go away. However, a late three-pointer by [player_tooltip player_id='1295323' first='Ian' last='Stephens'] was off the mark and a put back under the basket by [player_tooltip player_id='1578425' first='Julius' last='Gizzi'] as time expired wasn't enough. Lawrence North held on to snap New Palestine's undefeated season with a 59-58 victory. Doing so without [player_tooltip player_id='1296979' first='Azavier' last='Robinson'] made the win even more impressive for #10 ranked LN.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1158213' first='Kobi' last='Bowles'] led Lawrence North with 15 points while fellow junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1275769' first='Myles' last='Baker'] scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to help lead the Wildcats to victory. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1224253' first='Mase' last='Hughes'] added 9 points and 6 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the Dragons, unsigned senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1295323' first='Ian' last='Stephens'] led the way with 14 points and 6 rebounds. [player_tooltip player_id='1160679' first='Blaine' last='Nunnally'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1539484' first='Moses' last='Haynes'] chipped in 12 and 10 points respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->