By RICHIE HALL
LOGANSPORT – The Noblesville boys basketball team’s great season came to an end Saturday at the Class 4A Logansport regional.
The Millers fell in the Regional 3 championship to Fort Wayne Wayne 62-60. It was a close game all the way through, with the Generals leading the majority of the contest. But Noblesville never let Wayne get too far ahead, and held a one-point lead with under a minute to go before the Generals surged ahead for the win.
The Millers leaped out to a 6-0 lead during the first couple minutes of the game. Junior Aaron Fine hit two layins, with sophomore Aiden Brewer making a basket in between. The Generals answered with their own 7-0 run, and that began a series of lead changes that lasted through the end of the period. Fine got the last word, with his basket giving Noblesville a 14-13 lead going into the second quarter.
Wayne opened that period with an 8-0 run, going up 21-14 by the 6:04 mark. Seven points would be the biggest lead of the game, and sophomore Preston Comer hit a 3-pointer to put the Generals up by that margin the first of four times.
The Millers made timely baskets to not let the game get out of hand, and a Cooper Bean triple cut Wayne’s lead to 30-27 with seconds left in the half. But Comer threw in a 3 during the final seconds of the half, and the Generals were up 33-27 at the break.
“They hit a very high percentage of shots in the first half,” said Noblesville coach Scott McClelland. “Comer hit three 3s.”
A 3-pointer by Jevon Lewis Jr. put Wayne up by seven for a fourth time, 44-37 around the three-minute mark of the third quarter. Noblesville then got going with an 8-0 run to take a 45-44 lead. Bean and Luke Almodovar both nailed 3s, then Fine’s jumper put the Millers in front. Almodovar finished the quarter with 11 points, including three 3s.
Comer stopped the run with a triple, then Monte Smith’s jumper got the Generals back up 49-47. Noblesville’s TJ Davidson scored off a steal to finish the quarter, and the Millers were within 49-47 heading into the fourth.
While Wayne led for all but a few seconds of the fourth period, Noblesville never let the Generals get up by more than four points. Wayne led 55-51 with 4:59 left before Hunter Walston turned a steal into a three-point play with 4:05 on the clock.
Walston later put in two free throws to again cut the Generals’ lead to one, 57-56. HJ Dillard made two foul shots, and the Generals led 59-56, Almodovar cut that lead to one with a dunk. A couple minutes later, Fine made a layin to push the Millers ahead 60-59.
But it was not to last, as Lewis Jr. made two free throws with 20.9 seconds left to put Wayne back in front. The Generals got the ball back, and another Lewis Jr. free throw completed the scoring.
Almodovar, Noblesville’s senior star who is headed to the University of Saint Francis in the fall, led the scoring with 20 points. Two juniors also reached double digits: Fine had 14 points and Walston added 13. Bean, the other senior on Noblesville’s roster, scored six points, followed by Brewer with five and Davidson with two.
The Millers finished their season with a 19-7 record, the most wins since the 2009-10 campaign. Noblesville also broke its 13-year sectional drought, making it a great season for the Millers.
“I think the important thing here is, you’re just really focusing on the season as a whole and how much this team grew, got better, improved,” said McClelland. “I’m really proud of our kids, our coaches. “It’s raised the bar, so that’s ultimately what you want.”