By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
Noblesville advanced to the semi-finals at its Holiday Tournament Wednesday with a 96-42 first-round win over Indianapolis Lighthouse East at The Mill.
The Millers were in control of the game from the beginning. Noblesville led 4-3 at the 4:54 mark of the first quarter, then made a run of 14 straight points that carried it into the second period. Ryan Barnes and Zack Johnson both scored four points, Xavier Hines made a three-point play, and Jaron Youree opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer.
The Millers’ bench had an outstanding second period. Ian Gibbons, a 6-4 junior, scored nine points, including a three-point play. Jordan Fisher added four points. Youree made an easy basket off a steal by Jordan Schmidt, and Riley Vitales scored on a putback.
“I thought that our bench was really effective tonight, right from the beginning of the game,” said Noblesville coach Brian McCauley, who noted that his bench players scored 20 points in that period.
“It was a great opportunity for them to gain some quality minutes and I thought they really responded well,” said McCauley. “Our starters got off to a solid start and the guys who came off the bench really did a good job of coming in and being focused and being sharp.”
The Millers led 44-13 at halftime and wound up with five scorers in double figures. Gibbons was the leader, with 16 points.
“Gibbons had a tremendous game off the bench for us,” said McCauley.
Eagan Keever-Hill and Hines both added 13 points. Keever-Hill made the last basket of the first half, scoring off a Youree steal, then making the subsequent free throw after being fouled on the score. Keever-Hill then added back-to-back layins in the third period.
Johnson scored 12 points, while Barnes reached double-double status with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Vitales made four steals.
Noblesville is now 6-3 and will play Broad Ripple in today’s first semi-final game, which tips off at 10 a.m. The Rockets are 6-2 and defeated Crown Point 58-46 in Wednesday’s first game to advance. McCauley said that a key for the Millers in that game is to handle Broad Ripple’s full-court press and half-court defensive pressure.
“I think defensive rebounding’s going to be big and I think defensive transitions will be big,” said McCauley.
The second semi-final will see Warren Central, the fifth-ranked team in Class 4A, take on Pike. That game tips off at noon. The third-place game is set for 6 p.m., with the championship game to tip off at 8 p.m.
Noblesville’s Ian Gibbons came off the bench and led the Millers in their first-round tournament win over Indianapolis Lighthouse East Wednesday. Gibbons scored 16 points in Noblesville’s 96-42 victory. (Kent Graham)