By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
CARMEL – Friday night’s first Sectional 8 boys basketball semifinal for sure lived up to its billing.
A packed house at the Eric Clark Activity Center served up a pair of semifinals that kept fans in their seats all night. Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern battled throughout in the first game and it was a game of runs. In the end, the Millers were able to hold off a Royals comeback, 56-53.
Not long before tipoff, Carmel High School staff placed a sign outside the doors stating that the games were a sellout and there would be no more admitted, per the fire marshal.
Noblesville got going first with a 3-0 and then 5-2 on a steal at midcourt by Aiden Brewer. HSE tied it at 5-5 on a Lucas Weemer three. The Royals kept the lead until an Adam Fine free throw tied it 10-10. Freshman Varschon Clark made 1 of 3 free throws that gave the Royals an 11-10 lead through one.
It would stay tight in the second. Maverick Young scored the first basket of the quarter on a fast break for 13-10.
Justin Curry then pulled up from the right wing for a three to tie it 13-13. Young answered at the other end for 16-13.
Back-and-forth they went. Baron Walker tied it 16-16 with a three from the left side. HSE would go on a 6-5 spurt to take a 22-21 lead into halftime.
“At halftime we talked about it. We’re down one point, guys,” said Noblesville head coach Scott McClelland. “They’re playing well and they’re forcing us to not play well. I said, let’s pick up our body language. We’re ok. These games aren’t going to be easy and they never are.”
The third quarter became a different story. The Millers came out of the locker room with purpose. Just 14 seconds into the period, Walker was fouled shooting a three right in front of the Noblesville bench. The junior guard sank all three for the sixth tie.
That began an 11-0 run for Noblesville in the first 3:07 of the third. Young’s jumper from the right baseline stopped the scoring spree. But Noblesville kept it going with a 9-5 run to end the third with their largest lead of the night at 41-27.
Noblesville outscored HSE 20-5 in the third, but that seemed to fuel the Royals.
“It never felt comfortable, because I knew that they were never going to quit,” McClelland said. “They’ve got a really good team. Young really played well tonight. I was really worried all week about Weemer and I think we did a pretty good job on him for the most part.”
“They came out and really hit some shots to start the third quarter and we had some careless turnovers and I think that was just a huge swing in the game right there,” said Hamilton Southeastern head coach John Ashworth.
“You put yourself down 14 or 15, fighting and clawing back, but it’s almost too little too late at that point,” Ashworth added.
Southeastern woke up in the fourth quarter. The Royals went on a 13-2 run to trail just 45-42.
Brewer took a pass from Fine down low for a five-point lead 47-42 with 2:30 left. Fine made a pair of free throws for a seven-point margin at 49-42.
Young made this third triple of the fourth with 1:51 to go to cut it to 49-45.
“We got some stops and got a little lead. We got it to 12 and then 14. Then, they hit a couple tough shots,” continued McClelland.
Trading buckets in the final 90 seconds, the lead stretched to six on another two Fine makes at the foul line for 53-47.
Young simply had ice water in his veins, draining another three and it was 53-50.
Walker made 1 of 2 free throws with 21.9 seconds on the clock. On his miss, Curry grabbed a critical offensive board and laid it back in for 56-50.
Young cut it to three again 56-53 with 4.8 ticks left. Curry was fouled at the other end with 3.4 seconds remaining. He would miss both attempts.
“They sped us up. I didn’t do a very good job of helping the kids get into spots and attacking,” said McClelland. “Credit HSE, they’re a good team. They play hard. Young hit some bombs tonight. He’s a good player.”
Weemer took the pass just past midcourt. He launched a game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer that went off the back of the iron, allowing Noblesville to hang on for the win.
“That was a really good look, especially with no timeouts. For our kids to advance it and get a clean look, I mean, that’s what you can ask for from your team,” said Ashworth. “I thought it was in too. It was right there on-line, just kind of rimmed out, hit the rim and bounced out.”
“It’s this sectional and it’s March, too. I know that’s ‘coach speak’ and kind of cliche, but that’s the reality,” said McClelland. “Everybody thinks they’ve got a puncher’s chance and believes in their team. Everybody’s wanting a shot to play Saturday night. I’m proud of the guys. We made some plays when we needed to.”
Hamilton Southeastern (13-13) closes out its season and graduates just senior Braeden Totton. Junior Young led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, knocking down 5-for-8 from three-point range.
Clark was the other Royal in double digits with 10 before fouling out. Totton scored eight in his final game and Weemer five.
Noblesville (19-5) advances to its third consecutive sectional championship and looks to win its second in three years.
The Millers were led by Curry’s team-high 17. Walker joined him in double figures with 15, while Fine had nine, Brewer eight and Ryan Vetor six.
No. 8 Noblesville will play top-ranked Fishers (26-0) in the Sectional 8 championship at 7 p.m. tonight
