By CRAIG ADKINS
The Noblesville Millers wasted no time at all getting back to the winning side of things on Friday night in a very convincing win over the Frankfort Hot Dogs, 57-28.
Frankfort had two leads early at 2-0 and 4-2 and that’s all it took to light a fire in the Millers.
Junior Xavier Hines tied the game at 2-2, but it was five straight points from fellow junior Jordan Schmidt that jumped Noblesville out to a 7-4 lead that they would only build on for the final three and a half quarters en route to a dominating home floor victory.
“Jordan Schmidt played one of his better games as of late and I’m really proud of his focus,” said Noblesville head coach Brian McCauley on the play of his junior point guard.
Senior forward Ryan Barnes got his first two buckets on two of his six total offensive rebounds on consecutive possessions and Eagan Keever-Hill topped off the first quarter scoring to spring the Millers to a 13-6 lead after one.
The domination continued in the second as Keever-Hill knocked down his second field goal with a jumper from just inside the free throw line.
The Miller lead got into double-digits at 17-6 on a steal by junior Jaron Youree on Noblesville’s second basket of the second, forcing Frankfort head coach Nathan Van Duyne to burn his first timeout with 7:36 left until halftime.
The timeout by the Hot Dogs didn’t faze the Millers or remotely slow them down. The hosts would go on a 9-4 run the rest of the first half and cruise to a 26-12 halftime cushion.
The Hot Dog offense woke up a little in the third, but it was just a flash of production. A layup from Noah Dubree and a three from the left wing by Casey Henry and Frankfort got the lead back under 10 points at 26-17.
That would send the Millers into a scoring flurry, aided by their stellar defensive presence that forced turnovers, creating those opportunities.
Barnes started the scoring run with a reverse layup. Schmidt got fouled while attempting a three and swished all three from the charity stripe. Next, Hines stole a pass and took it in for two and then drilled a long jump shot, just inside the three-point arc, now doubling up the Hot Dogs at 35-17.
Hines would nail a trey from the left wing in the final seconds of the third, pushing the Noblesville lead to 40-20.
“I thought Xavier Hines did a great job, scored 16 points, but was really letting the offense come to him and he did a great job of finding his spots,” said McCauley on Hines and his ability to silently lead the Miller offense.
On a night that it seemed like nothing could go right for Frankfort, everything and more went right for Noblesville.
They were able to hold the visiting Hot Dogs to single-digits in all four quarters, which is a remarkable feat, no matter who you play.
Barnes would add three more field goals in the fourth that helped keep open a 48-26 margin before he took a well-deserved chair for the rest of the game.
“I thought Ryan Barnes was really physical and strong inside and he ends up with 12 points and 13 rebounds (six offensive). He solidified our inside game,” said McCauley on his senior’s great overall contributions.
In the final few minutes when McCauley had emptied his bench, the Millers were still putting points on the board and would win going away, pushing to a solid team victory, 57-28 over Frankfort.
It was a game where size and speed were big contributing factors and most importantly, how the Millers were in control throughout, which made their fast break and transition points possible.
“I agree. I thought our transition was big. Schmidty stole a pass to score an easy basket. If you can get easy baskets, it just opens things up,” said McCauley eluding to his Millers’ defense creating scoring opportunities all evening for the offense en route to their lopsided win.
Frankfort drops to 4-9 on the season and will host Clinton Central (0-10) on Saturday, who lost on Friday to Rossville, 75-70. The Hot Dogs were led by a team-high 10 from Noab Dubree.
Noblesville improved its record to 8-6 and travels to Logansport (9-3) on Saturday. The Berries lost at home Friday night to McCutcheon, 89-65.
The Millers were led in scoring by the game-high 16 from Xavier Hines. He was joined in double-figures by Ryan Barnes double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds, along with Jordan Schmidt also scoring 12 and dishing out four assists.
Noblesville 57, Frankfort 28
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Jaron Youree 2-8 0-0 4 2
Brendan Fisher 1-1 0-0 3 3
Jordan Schmidt 4-8 3-3 12 1
Eagan Keever-Hill 2-5 0-0 4 1
Jordan Gadis 1-1 0-0 2 0
Xavier Hines 7-14 0-0 16 1
Ryan Barnes 6-9 0-3 12 3
Evan Wilson 1-1 0-0 2 0
Alex Hancock 1-1 0-0 2 2
Totals 25-48 3-6 57 13
Score by Quarters
Frankfort 6 6 8 8 – 28
Noblesville 13 13 14 17 – 57
Noblesville 3-point shooting (4-10) Hines 2-3, Schmidt 1-4, Fisher 1-1, Youree 0-2.
Noblesville rebounds (24) Barnes 13, Keever-Hill 5, Youree 2, Hines 2, Fisher 1, team 1.
Noblesville’s Ryan Barnes earned a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds during the Millers’ 57-28 victory over Frankfort Friday at The Mill. (Kent Graham)