Greenwood boys beaten by New Palestine

<p>Like many teams, New Palestine came into its boys basketball game Friday night with a plan and stuck with it despite the plan not working well initially.</p><p>Eventually, that plan did work.</p><p>The end result was the Dragons beating host Greenwood Friday night, 57-38, in a battle of conference champions.</p><p>Not only did New Palestine keep on truckin’, it spoiled senior night for Greenwood, and gave itself a big lift in momentum heading into next week’s sectionals.</p><p>“We just stuck with what we were doing,” Dragons coach Trent Whitaker said. “Their zone kind of hurt us a little bit early. We were able to get in the paint a little bit more and the inside out shots were a little easier.</p><p>“We have senior leaders and they stayed calm.”</p><p>Especially when the Woodmen jumped out to a 9-4 lead. But as Whitaker noted, the Dragons bided their time until they found the opening; when they did, they exploited it, and also added a bit more physicality that seemed to throw Greenwood off.</p><p>Once the Dragons took the lead to end the first quarter, they didn’t give it up again.</p><p>Ball control played a big factor in New Palestine’s win. Greenwood chased a lot and had to resort to some fouling just to gain possession.</p><p>Another factor was the margin.</p><p>Greenwood (16-6) found itself eight behind for most of the second half. If it hit a basket or two, the Dragons countered.</p><p>Consecutive travels by Greenwood late in the fourth quarter didn’t help, either. The Dragons went up by 12 points with 4:05 left in the game to put the game away.</p><p>“We were able to make them play at our pace,” Whitaker said.</p><p>New Palestine (12-12) was led by Maximus Gizzi with a game-high 20 points. Sophomore Steele Brasfield added 13.</p><p>Greenwood, which saw its modest three-game winning streak end, was led by senior Gavin Dowling with 15 points. Sophomore Brock Kincaid added 10.</p><p>“It was a physical game, and we have to match their physicality when that happens; at times we didn’t and that’s when they got back in the game,” Greenwood coach Joe Bradburn said. &quot;They also got a lot of free throws.&quot;</p><p>Bradburn said that although the Woodmen have played well throughout the year, Friday night wasn’t one of the better nights for him or his team.</p><p>“We didn’t focus like we have been and that is frustrating,” said Bradburn. “It’s time to move on and we have to focus on sectionals.”</p><p>Mid-State Conference foe Whiteland is Greenwood’s first sectional opponent. The two rivals play Tuesday evening in the first round of the Class 4A Shelbyville Sectional at 6 p.m., with the winner playing the host Golden Bears in the semifinals next Friday.</p>