Slow start grounds Golden Eagles

By RICHARD TORRES

For The Reporter

GREENFIELD – The Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles were chasing a potential regional championship three-peat last Saturday, but a sluggish start inside Greenfield-Central’s Cougar Gym halted their pursuit before they could respond.

Down 10-1 in the first quarter before charging back to make it 12-6 by the second quarter, Class 3A No. 3 New Palestine (25-3) upheld its early advantage to win the Regional 14 title, 63-49.

“New Pal came out and took the fight to us, and we didn’t respond very well,” Guerin Catholic coach Bobby Allen said. “I’m proud of my guys for fighting and getting back to six points there (in the first quarter).”

The fifth-ranked 3A Golden Eagles (23-5) didn’t convert their first field goal until the 3 minute, 38 second mark in the first quarter when senior Ryne Paris buried a 3-pointer to cut the deficit 10-4.

However, a 10-2 run by New Palestine in the second quarter pushed the margin into double figures, 22-8, and provided enough of a cushion for the Dragons to win wire-to-wire and claim their first-ever regional crown.

“We prepared and we came in confident, but we weren’t us tonight. Give credit to them for taking us out of our game and what we tried to do. When you shoot 16-for-38 from the field you’re not going to win many games that way,” Allen said. “I think it’s a credit to our guys and the fight that they have to still be in it in the fourth quarter after not being able to put the ball in the rim.”

The Golden Eagles shot 33 percent from the field in the game and 25 percent in the first half, as the Dragons never let up by converting 55 percent of their shot attempts by halftime and 52 percent overall.

New Palestine’s all-time leading scorer Julius Gizzi (1,781 points), a senior Indiana Wesleyan commit, finished with a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds, while senior Ben Slagley added 16 points.

Dragons’ senior and IU-Kokomo recruit Mose Haynes, the program’s all-time assist and steals leader, provided eight points and seven assists.

The trio along with senior Austin McMahan’s eight points carried the Dragons to their fifth straight victory and fourth consecutive win by double digits this postseason.

“We felt like we had some opportunities in the paint early on, and we weren’t able to finish. They took advantage of us not being able to get going early on,” Allen said. “They hit a couple perimeter shots, and Gizzi is a great player. Knows how to use his body. Anyone that can get to the free-throw line 17 times (and convert 13) in one game knows what he’s doing out there.”

The Golden Eagles had won six games in a row prior to the opening tip and netted their eighth sectional title all time last weekend with four in the past five years, including three straight.

Guerin Catholic captured three regional championships in the last five years with six overall and were in search of the program’s first three-peat after going back-to-back in 2014-15 and 2023-24.

The Golden Eagles narrowed the gap, 45-38 and 47-40, in the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t get any closer as the Dragons pulled ahead 53-40 by the 3:17 mark.

Sophomore Jake Grissom led Guerin Catholic with a team-high 13 points, followed by senior Malcolm Houze and Paris with 10 points each. Senior Bryson Cardinal finished with eight points and nine rebounds while going scoreless in the first half.

“It’s tough to lose games like this. When you feel like you’re better, but at the same time I’m not going to take anything away from our guys and the season we had,” Allen said. “They took our program to another level, which is exciting, and we have a lot of young guys coming back.”

New Palestine, which dropped down from 4A this year, converted 20 of 25 free throws, 5 of 13 shots from behind the arc and out rebounded Guerin Catholic 25-24 with 22 on the defensive glass.

The Golden Eagles shot 6 of 17 from 3-point range and went 11 of 16 from the foul line.

Cardinal, Paris and Houze combined to score 10 of Guerin Catholic’s final 18 points.

“Bryson Cardinal, Ryne Paris, those guys fought so hard for us. All of our seniors did. For them to be in a situation where they won three straight sectionals, Bryson got to play in the state finals, and they got to play in a final four last year, it’s great. It’s exciting. I know they had an unbelievable high school experience, and I think the most important thing is they have passed on traits, and they’ve been great role models for our younger guys,” Allen said.

In the seniors’ four years, the Golden Eagles won 79 games, captured three sectional titles, two regionals, a semi-state championship and nearly the program’s third state title. This year, Guerin Catholic won the Circle City Conference title outright with a 4-0 record.

“Guerin basketball is in a great place. We’re going to walk out of here with our heads held high, but New Pal was simply the better team for about an hour-and-a-half today. We wish them the best of luck going forward,” Allen said. “Grateful for our seniors. They left the program in a great place.”