Noblesville fell to Muncie Central 55-43 in a Saturday evening away game.
The Bearcats jumped out to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter. The Millers cut that lead to 24-22 by halftime, with Xavier Hines and Jaron Youree both scoring five points in the second period. But Muncie outscored Noblesville 15-7 in the third quarter and held that lead in the fourth.
“It was a disappointing and frustrating road loss versus Muncie Central,” said Noblesville coach Brian McCauley. “We had too many turnovers (15), gave up too many offensive rebounds (12), and missed 10 layups for the game. We got off to a slow start but I was very pleased with how we cut an 11-point deficit in the second quarter to only two points by halftime. We didn’t execute well offensively or defensively at the beginning of the third quarter and that set the tone for the rest of the half.”
Xavier Hines led the Millers with 15 points, including seven in the fourth period. Jaron Youree added 13 points; both he and Youree made three 3-pointers. Hines and Ryan Barnes each pulled six rebounds, with Youree grabbing five. Jordan Schmidt handed out five assists.
“This is a great learning opportunity for us that will hopefully help us improve,” said McCauley. “I thought Jaron Youree gave us a nice lift off the bench by scoring 13 points, grabbing five rebounds, and having one steal.”
Noblesville is now 7-5 for the season. The Millers travel to Zionsville on Friday for a girl-boy Hoosier Crossroads Conference doubleheader.
