By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – In the first game of the season for both teams, the Noblesville and Hamilton Heights boys basketball programs proved quite a bit about themselves.
The Millers showed off their considerable balance and solid mix of seniors and youth, both of which led to a 65-35 win for Noblesville Wednesday night at the Huskies’ gym. Heights, meanwhile, showed a nice amount of grit and competitive spirit, battling the entire way despite being down three starters.
Of course, the Millers have quite a bit of grit and spirit as well. They proved that by breaking out of a tight first half to roll through the second half, outscoring the Huskies 44-23.
“It was a game in the first half, it really was,” said Noblesville coach Scott McClelland. “That’s a credit to them.”
Will Smits scored the first points of the Millers’ season with a putback, after which Heights’ John Irion nailed a 3-pointer. That would be the Huskies’ only lead of the game, as Noblesville skipped off on an 8-0 run. Four different players scored in that run, the first three of them seniors: Smits, Aaron Fine and Hunter Walston. Junior T.J. Davidson finished the run with a basket off a steal.
Two layins by Fine gave Noblesville a 16-8 lead after one. The second quarter was defensive, as the Millers outscored the Huskies 5-4 for a 21-12 lead. Sophomore Justin Curry, who played many varsity minutes last year as a freshman, helped out Noblesville with a 3-pointer.
“Justin’s got a tremendous upside,” said McClelland. “He’s still only a sophomore. He’s still got to keep taking shots that he works on. I think that’s the biggest thing I would say to him.”
The Millers took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring Heights 24-11. Fine took over in that period, at one point scoring 11 consecutive points. Baron Walker, a promising sophomore, finished the quarter with a triple to put Noblesville ahead 45-23.
“We came out slow in the first half,” said Fine. “We played great defensively but we couldn’t buy a bucket. And part of that was because we were really stagnant on offense. We weren’t moving the ball and putting ourselves in good situations. But the second half, we came out with a better game plan and we got better shots.”
“I thought in the third quarter, we really came out with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm,” said McClelland. “We were able to attack their zone a little bit better, we got the ball into the short corner, go the ball into the middle, and then just opened up the game and wore them down.”
The Millers raced to the finish line, pouring in another 20 points in the fourth quarter. Walston showed some versatility by following a 3-pointer with a dunk, his second of the game. Curry threw in his second triple of the game.
Fine scored 17 points to lead the Millers, while Walston added 13 points and Smits scored 10.
“Those guys have been three and four-year varsity players, and have started in many big games, so you expect that from them to a certain degree,” said McClelland. “And I thought they really responded, really got our group going there.”
Irion scored 15 points for the Huskies, while senior Tillman Etchison scored 11. Heights was missing three starters, senior Sam Dawson and juniors Tyler Champion and Landen Scheiber, a transfer from Avon.
“We’re going to be deep once we get guys back,” said Huskies coach Chad Ballenger. “I love the effort. We got to clean up stuff. We are who we are.”
Noblesville plays its first home game Saturday afternoon against Franklin Community. Heights travels to Clinton Central on Tuesday.
NOBLESVILLE 65, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 35
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
TJ Davidson 1-3 0-0 2 2
Aaron Fine 5-10 7-8 17 3
Justin Curry 2-7 2-2 8 0
Hunter Walston 6-9 0-0 13 1
Will Smits 5-6 0-0 10 3
Luke Etchison 2-2 0-0 4 1
Baron Walker 2-2 0-0 5 2
Ryan Vetor 2-2 2-2 6 1
Adam Fine 0-0 0-0 0 1
Luke Davis 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 25-41 11-12 65 14
Noblesville 3-point shooting (4-12) Curry 2-6, Walston 1-2, Walker 1-1, Aa. Fine 0-2, Davidson 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (13) Walston 4, Vetor 3, Smits 2, Aa. Fine 1, Curry 1, Etchison 1, Walker 1.
Heights FG FT TP PF
Rees Knapp 0-4 0-0 0 0
Dreydin Serna 1-4 1-2 3 3
Tillman Etchison 2-5 7-8 11 3
John Irion 6-14 1-3 15 3
Simon Knott 1-1 0-0 2 2
Phoenix Vondersaar 0-0 0-0 0 0
Carson Felger 1-1 0-0 2 0
Isaiah Grimsey 0-1 0-0 0 0
Aidan Unger 0-1 2-2 2 0
Totals 11-31 11-15 35 11
Heights 3-point shooting (2-12) Irion 2-7, Knapp 0-3, Serna 0-1, Etchison 0-1.
Heights rebounds (16) Serna 6, Knott 4, Vondersaar 3, Felger 1, Grimsey 1, Irion 1.
Score by Quarters
Noblesville 16 5 24 20 – 65
Heights 8 4 11 12 – 35