“A tale of two halves” is a basketball cliché, but sometimes it is true.
How else to explain Noblesville’s 72-64 win at Anderson Saturday night? The Millers were engaged in a defensive game with the Indians during the first half, but both teams got their offenses going in the second half.
“It was just a tale of two different halves,” said Noblesville coach Scott McClelland. “We were up four at halftime, 21-17, and then the second half just got wild. Just a totally different pace, totally different scoring, a totally different style of basketball, much different than the first half.”
The game was tied at 10-10 after the first quarter before the Millers pulled away to take their halftime lead. Aaron Fine had a nice half, scoring seven points.
The tempo began to change in the third quarter, where Noblesville poured in 21 points to lead 42-34. Cooper Bean scored nine points during that period. In the fourth quarter, both teams exploded for 30 points. But Noblesville was able to stay ahead, thanks to its balance and free-throw shooting.
E.J. Smith was 9-of-12 from the line in the fourth quarter, and also made a basket during the period. Smith finished with 21 points to lead the Millers. Roberts stepped up in the fourth as well, also contributing 11 points. He finished with 16. Bean totaled 13 points.
“It wasn’t pretty,” said McClelland. “We had to do some different things. They put us in some spots that we hadn’t really worked on. Really encouraged by our kids’ effort to go on the road and get the win.”
Noblesville improved to 2-3 with the victory. The Millers are back home Friday at The Mill, where they will host Westfield in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game.
NOBLESVILLE 72, ANDERSON 64
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
E.J. Smith 4 13-18 21 2
Aaron Fine 4 5-6 14 2
Cooper Bean 4 4-4 13 3
Preston Roberts 6 3-3 16 2
Cameron Karns 3 0-0 6 5
Hunter Walston 1 0-0 2 1
Luke Wilson 0 0-0 0 0
Evan Wright 0 0-0 0 2
Totals 22 25-31 72 17
Score by Quarters
Noblesville 10 11 21 30 – 72
Anderson 10 7 17 30 – 64
Noblesville 3-pointers (3) Fine 1, Bean 1, Roberts 1.