Westfield emerged on top of a back-and-forth game with Noblesville on Friday, beating the Millers 52-45 at The Mill.
The victory kept the Class 4A No. 9 Shamrocks perfect for the season at 5-0. Noblesville put that streak in danger by taking the lead in the fourth quarter, but Westfield used an 11-0 run to get out of trouble.
“I thought it would be a game of runs,” said Shamrocks coach Shane Sumpter. “We knew they would make a run. We had a little bit of a lead at halftime. That’s a good team. We knew they’d make a run and our guys, we’ve been tested before and I thought we did a good job of making some plays down the stretch.”
The Millers led 11-6 after the first quarter, with Noah Harris making a pair of 3-pointers along the way. But Westfield revved up its defense in the second period, outscoring Noblesville 14-1 to take a 20-12 lead into halftime. Five different Shamrocks scored in that quarter, including four points from Cam Haffner.
Westfield got up by as much as 31-21 in the third quarter, with Eli Patchett hitting a 3 along the way. The Millers got the last basket of the period, when Alex Hunt converted a traditional 3-point play, cutting the Shamrocks’ lead to 31-24.
Hunt’s and-1 began a 10-0 run that tied the game at 31-31 early in the fourth. Hunt added five points (a layin and a 3), then EJ Smith made two free throws to finish the run.
Nic Depasquale made a layin to get Westfield back in front, and that was answered by another three-point play, from the Millers’ Brendon Fisher. Camden Simons tied the game with a free throw, then Hunt made two foul shots, putting Noblesville up 36-34.
But the Shamrocks took over after that. Depasquale tied the game on a putback, Braden Smith made a layin, then Depasquale added five points, an and-1 and a layin. Simons made two free throws to put Westfield up 45-36.
The Millers fought to the end, with Jordan Gadis scoring five points in the game’s final two minutes. Westfield took care of business from the free-throw line, making 7 of 8 foul shots in the last 90 seconds.
The Shamrocks sophomores led the way: Depasquale scored 16 points and Haffner added 10 points and seven rebounds. Smith handed out five assists and collected five rebounds. Simons, a senior, had eight points and six rebounds.
“There’s a lot of times out there you look out there and there’s three sophomores, Braden, Nic and Cam Haffner,” said Sumpter. “We’re a pretty young team. But those kids aren’t playing like sophomores right now. The thing I like about this time is everybody plays for each other. They don’t care who gets the credit. I think that’s one of the things that makes this team special.”
Hunt led Noblesville with 18 points, with Gadis scoring 11. Noah Harris pulled five rebounds and Fisher dished out four assists.
The unbeaten ‘Rocks will host another unbeaten team, 2A No. 6 Tipton, at 7:30 p.m. tonight at The Rock. The Millers are 3-4 and play tonight at Hamilton Heights, also tipping off at 7:30 p.m.
WESTFIELD 52, NOBLESVILLE 45
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Braden Smith 2-9 2-2 6 3
Matt Penley 0-0 0-0 0 1
Benji Welch 2-3 0-0 5 0
Zach Byrer 2-3 0-0 4 2
Camden Simons 2-3 4-5 8 5
Nic Depasquale 6-14 4-5 16 3
Cam Haffner 3-5 4-4 10 1
Eli Patchett 1-3 0-0 3 1
Totals 18-40 14-16 52 16
Westfield 3-point shooting (2-11) Patchett 1-3, Welch 1-1, Smith 0-4, Depasquale 0-2, Haffner 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (27) Haffner 7, Simons 6, Smith 5, Welch 3, Patchett 3, Penley 1, Depasquale 1, Byrer 1.
Smith 5 assists
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Jordan Gadis 3-8 3-6 11 4
Brendon Fisher 2-3 1-1 6 1
Noah Harris 2-8 0-0 6 1
Evan Wilson 1-4 0-0 2 1
Alex Hunt 6-9 4-6 18 4
EJ Smith 0-1 2-2 2 2
Preston Roberts 0-3 0-0 0 2
Totals 14-36 10-15 45 15
Noblesville 3-point shooting (7-18) Harris 2-4, Gadis 2-3, Hunt 2-3, Fisher 1-2, Wilson 0-3, Roberts 0-2, Smith 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (19) Harris 5, Hunt 4, Roberts 4, Gadis 3, Fisher 1, Smith 1, Wilson 1.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 6 14 11 21 – 52
Noblesville 11 1 12 21 – 45
Noblesville’s Noah Harris takes a shot while being guarded by Westfield’s Zach Byrer during the Millers-Shamrocks game Friday at The Mill. (Kent Graham)