Dragons fall to Castle

New Palestine's boys basketball season came to a close Saturday afternoon in the regional, as the Dragons fell to Castle 69-58 in the semifinal round of the IHSAA boys basketball regional at Shelbyville.

Brandon Collins scored 16 points to lead the Dragons, who led for much of the first half -- building the edge to 21-15 midway through the second quarter. Josh Penley added 13 points, including several from the foul line in the second half. 

Castle finished the first half with a 10-2 run to take a 25-23 lead at the half, then opened the third quarter with an 11-1 run to go up 36-24. The Knights never reliniquished the lead -- building it as high as 17 points and to 50-36 at the end of the third, one capped by a 40-foot 3-pointer by Collins. Castle then used its size inside and hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Dragons.

Castle was led by its frontcourt of 6-foot-6 Shane Seniour and 6-5 Brady Simmons, who cominbed for 47 points. Seniour had 26, including 10 of his team's 13 in the opening quarter. Simmons -- the son of University of Evansville coach Marty Simmons -- hit two second-quarter 3-pointers to get his team going, and finished with 21 points.

The Dragons' season ends at 17-7, the third time in four years they won their sectional championship. Collins, Penley, Reid Clark and Wade Whitaker will graduate as the class with the most postseason success in school history, as the program won three sectional titles and had a 7-1 sectional record in their four years as players.