By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – On paper, Tuesday night’s home game against Class A Liberty Christian was projected to be a routine midweek victory for the 4A No. 3 Noblesville Millers.
By the end, the final score reflected that assumption, 72-37, but it required a bit more mindfulness than the Millers initially anticipated.
Noblesville (17-2) ran out to a quick 10-2 advantage in the first quarter, but the Lions (10-9) roared back twice in the first half, closing within one possession two times before the more experienced Millers ran away with their largest point total of the season.
“The biggest thing from the first half to the second half was our concentration. That’s what I told them at halftime,” Millers head coach Scott McClelland said.
“Why did I say that? Well, we missed six or seven layups. We had six turnovers, and we didn’t get our defense set like we talked about. We were flat and not active in the gaps, and I said at halftime, this comes down to concentration.”
The Millers’ refocusing began to take shape in the second quarter, as the youthful Lions cut their deficit to 12-10 following a 3-point play by sophomore Jordan Haralson, who converted an and-1.
Noblesville reestablished a nine-point lead afterwards, 19-10, with an assist from senior Aaron Fine setting up a Baron Walker 3-pointer to kick off a 7-0 run.
Liberty Christian answered with a 6-0 comeback, but Fine sparked a 12-0 swing with his first of two 3-pointers in the game, and the Millers’ lead swelled to double digits where it remained.
Fine finished with a game-high 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting and a flawless 5-for-5 performance from the free-throw line. Noblesville had a trio of double-digit scorers with senior Hunter Walston tallying 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting and sophomore Justin Curry II adding 10 points.
Walker nearly gave the Millers a fourth player in double figures with nine points and two rebounds.
“I thought the guys really responded and did a nice job,” McClelland said. “We played a little bit better in the second half. I know we scored some points in the second quarter, but I thought we gave up some, too. I just thought our concentration was much better overall in the second half with our defense and our attention to detail.”
The Millers poured in 26 points in the second quarter to take a 38-22 lead and outscored the Lions 34-15 in the second half.
Noblesville shot 23 of 44 from the field at 52 percent and buried 6 of 17 3-pointers while converting 20 of 23 free throws to reach their largest lead at 36 points by the fourth quarter.
Their 72 points surpassed the team’s previous season high at 71 points scored against 3A Guerin Catholic on Jan. 27 at the Mill. The Millers’ most lopsided victory to date was at the Mill, 51-16, against 3A Connersville on Jan. 13.
“Overall, it was a good win. Good balance again, with three in double figures and several other guys that scored, so that was good,” McClelland said. “The difference was the concentration.”
One of three Hoosier Crossroads Conference teams ranked in 4A’s top four, the Millers netted their fifth straight win and improved to 9-1 at the Mill this season.
The Millers’ defense held the Lions without a player in double figures. The closest was freshman TJ English with eight points, followed by Haralson with seven.
Liberty Christian has won back-to-back sectional titles and eight in the past 12 years due to its traditionally strong schedule, which it utilizes towards postseason success.
The Millers’ final three regular-season games will be equally as testing with the state tournament weeks away.
“Tuesday night game against a team, I think, you know in your mind and heart you’re probably going to win or should win, and again, I go back to our concentration,” McClelland said. “We have to have that because it doesn’t get any easier now. It’s Brownsburg on the road. It’s Avon. It’s Mississinewa. You can’t take a play off if we’re going to win the first week of March. We have to be ready to go every play.”
The Millers are currently third in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference at 3-2. No. 4 Westfield (14-2) is second with a 4-2 conference record and top-ranked Fishers (18-1) remains unbeaten in the league at 6-0.
Both of Noblesville’s losses were against those HCC rivals. All three programs compete in Sectional 8, which will be held at Noblesville this year.
The IHSAA state tournament sectional draw is on Feb. 18, but before they find out their postseason path, the Millers are focusing on winning out.
“We have to play over there (at Brownsburg), and that’s never easy. So we’ll get to enjoy this tonight and come back tomorrow and get ready to work,” McClelland said.
The Millers play Brownsburg (12-9, 2-3 HCC) Friday at 7:30 p.m. and host Avon (11-8, 1-4 HCC) on Feb. 16 before finishing at the Mill on Feb. 20 against 3A Mississinewa.
NOBLESVILLE 72, LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 37
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Aaron Fine 9-14 5-5 25 2
Justin Curry II 4-8 0-0 10 1
Aiden Brewer 1-3 0-2 2 0
Hunter Walston 6-10 4-4 17 3
Baron Walker 2-3 4-4 9 3
TJ Davidson 0-1 2-2 2 0
Luke Etchison 0-0 3-4 3 1
Will Smits 0-1 2-2 2 0
Ryan Vetor 1-2 0-0 2 2
Adam Fine 0-2 0-0 0 0
Luke Davis 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 23-44 20-23 72 13
Score by Quarters
Liberty Christian 7 15 11 4 – 37
Noblesville 12 26 19 15 – 72
Noblesville 3-point shooting (6-17) Curry 2-5, Aa. Fine 2-4, Walston 1-3, Walker 1-2, Davidson 0-1, Ad. Fine 0-1, Vetor 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (29) Walston 7, Curry 6, Brewer 6, Aa. Fine 3, Walker 2, Smits 2, Vetor 2, Etchison 1.