By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – Noblesville got a solid bounce-back win on Saturday, beating Anderson 59-42 at The Mill.
The Millers slowly but surely pulled away from the Indians, using balance and defense to get the victory. In doing so, Noblesville evened up its season record at 2-2 and rebounded from a loss to Carmel just 24 hours earlier.
“This group just has to learn how to become more consistent,” said Millers coach John Peckinpaugh. “That’s going to take some time. It’s a long process and they’ll get it. They’re good kids. I think they, for the most part, want to be coached. They want to improve so we’ll get there.”
Noblesville scored the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer by EJ Smith. That would foreshadow a good night for the 6-foot-1 junior. The Millers trailed only once in the game when Anderson had them down 6-5 in the first quarter, but Noblesville went off on a 6-0 run to finish the period ahead 11-6.
Luke Almodovar started the run by making a jump shot, then Josh Durham and Preston Roberts each made baskets. Five different players scored for the Millers in the first period; Noah Harris made a floater early in the quarter.
“I think it was pretty good, said Peckinpaugh of his team’s balance. “I think our guys did a pretty good job of sharing the ball. I didn’t like how we flowed into our offense. I thought their coach did a good job of changing up defenses and keeping us out of a flow to the game, which made it difficult for our guys to get good looks. We got most of our points off our defensive pressure. We’ll continue to work on that and get better as the year goes on.”
Noblesville went on another 6-0 run early in the second, with two quick baskets by Roberts and a Smith layin. Smith would throw in another 3 later in the period, and Harris added five points as well, including a layin with 1:09 left in the period. That would be the last basket of the first half, and the Millers took a 28-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the third quarter, it was all about Noblesville’s defense, which held the Indians to just four points. The Millers scored 16 points, including a 10-0 run that took up most of the period.
Smith started the run with a basket off a steal, then Aaron Fine drained a triple. It was free throws after that, with Harris making one, Smith hitting two and Almodovar adding another two.
“I thought the third quarter, we were pretty good on the defensive end of the floor and it turned into some easy offense for us,” said Peckinpaugh. “And right now, we need that. We just got to get more consistent with our approach to games. We got a young, inexperienced group and it’s going to take some time, but they can definitely do it.”
Noblesville led 44-24 after three periods and held that margin throughout the fourth. If every Miller got a chance to score, it was Durham’s turn in that quarter, as he led the way with five points. That included a basket off a steal to give Noblesville its largest lead of the game at 50-28. Smith and Luke Wilson both made a 3-pointer in the latter half of the period.
Smith finished the game with 19 points, including three 3s, and six assists. Smith made all four of his free throw attempts and also pulled three rebounds.
“And as EJ settles into his role with this group – it’s a little bit different than it was last year – he’ll continue to improve,” said Peckinpaugh. “He’s a good kid, he works hard. He’s got to step up into a leadership role this year for this team to be successful.”
Two other Millers players reached double figures. Roberts scored 11 points and led the rebounds with eight. Harris added 10 points and collected four rebounds. Durham scored seven points.
Noblesville’s next game will be on the road, as the Millers travel to Westfield on Friday for its first Hoosier Crossroads Conference contest of the season.
NOBLESVILLE 59, ANDERSON 42
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Josh Durham 3-3 1-2 7 3
EJ Smith 6-9 4-4 19 2
Noah Harris 3-10 4-7 10 2
Luke Almodovar 1-5 2-2 4 0
Preston Roberts 4-6 3-3 11 4
Aaron Fine 1-3 0-0 3 2
David Lloyd 0-2 0-0 0 3
Cameron Karns 1-2 0-0 2 2
Luke Wilson 1-1 0-0 3 0
Cooper Bean 0-0 0-0 0 0
Evan Wright 0-1 0-0 0 0
Totals 20-42 14-18 59 18
Score by Quarters
Anderson 6 14 4 18 – 42
Noblesville 11 17 16 15 – 59
Noblesville 3-point shooting (5-17) Smith 3-5, Fine 1-2, Wilson 1-1, Almodovar 0-4, Lloyd 0-2, Harris 0-1, Roberts 0-1, Wright 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (19) Roberts 8, Harris 4, Smith 3, Fine 1, Almodovar 1, Lloyd 1, Karns 1.