By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
While the Millers fell just short of their goal at their own Noblesville Holiday Tournament, there were quite a few positives for the team after all was said and done.
Noblesville reached the championship game at the tournament, beating Broad Ripple 57-49 in the Thursday morning semi-finals. In the final, the Millers gave undefeated Warren Central a good battle before falling 51-37.
“I’m proud of our effort in this tournament,” said Noblesville coach Brian McCauley. “We played well against Lighthouse East and then I thought we were even better against Broad Ripple this morning. It’s disappointing we lost against a very good Warren Central team. But at the same time, I like the progress we’ve made since our Pike game.”
In their morning game, the Millers played a Broad Ripple team that came into that contest with a 6-2 record. The Rockets scored the first five points of the game, then still led 9-4 midway through the first quarter.
Noblesville responded with an 11-2 run that carried over into the second period. Xavier Hines lit up the floor with three 3-pointers during that run. Eagan Keever-Hill tied the game at 9-9 with a layin, and Hines’ second ‘3’ of the game put the Millers in front, never to trail again.
“Xavier was consistent throughout the game, but he was really hot in the first quarter,” said McCauley.
Broad Ripple did get within 15-14 early in the second quarter, but Noblesville made a 7-0 run to get the lead back to a comfortable 22-14. Hines drained his fourth ‘3’ of the game, then Ryan Barnes and Zack Johnson each made layins.
The Millers led 24-17 at halftime, and kept their lead around that margin for most of the second half. The Rockets played tough, but every time they threatened to get close, Noblesville would answer with a big basket to keep Broad Ripple at arm’s length.
The Rockets did get to within 48-46 late in the fourth quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers by Xavier White and Wyatt Gordon. But the Millers responded yet again: Hines threw in his sixth ‘3’ of the game, then Johnson’s layin got Noblesville back up 53-46. Johnson and Hines both made two free throws in the final 40 seconds to secure the win.
Hines finished the game with 22 points, with Johnson adding 14 and Barnes scoring 11. Barnes also controlled the boards with seven rebounds, while Keever-Hill grabbed six.
“Ryan and Eagan did a really good job on the offensive rebounds,” said McCauley. “Between those two guys, we had about five offensive rebounds.”
The Warren Central team that the Millers played in the championship is ranked No. 4 in Class 4A. The Warriors shot the ball like a highly-ranked team, especially in the first quarter when it seemed like they couldn’t miss.
Noblesville was able to match them basket-for-basket, though. Warren led 7-2 early in the first before Hines and Barnes made layins to cut the lead to 7-6. The Warriors then pushed ahead 13-8, but Barnes ended the quarter with another layin, keeping the Millers within 13-10.
A Keever-Hill layin in the second quarter put Noblesville within 19-16. But the Warriors jumped out on an 8-0 run after that to take a 27-16 lead; the run ended when Johnson hit a free throw with 1:52 left in the half. The Millers had to contend with Warren Central junior Jesse Bingham, who would be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Bingham scored 11 first-half points.
“Early they hurt us right there in the high post,” said McCauley. “Bingham had three really nice shots there. We had no answer for that. He was so consistent throughout the game.”
Warren led 27-17 at halftime, and kept its lead at around 10 points for the second half. But the Millers kept the pressure on for the entire half. Barnes made back-to-back layins late in the third quarter to snip a 35-22 Warrior lead to 35-26.
Warren Central then led 44-30 midway through the fourth quarter before Noblesville embarked on a 7-0 run. Barnes scored on another layin, Hines made a 3-pointer, and Riley Vitales capped the run with a rebound basket – the Millers got control of a mad scramble for the ball, and while their first shot missed, Vitales was there to make sure the putback got in.
That sent the Noblesville fans into a frenzy and cut the Warriors’ lead to 44-37. Warren ended the game with a 7-0 run of their own to move to 8-0 on the season, but the Millers made sure it was not easy.
“We made them sweat a little bit. We made them think,” said McCauley.
Barnes led Noblesville with 12 points. He was named to the All-Tournament Team after the conclusion of the championship game.
“Congrats to Ryan,” said McCauley. “He’s been a warrior for us all season. He’s really improved and we’ll need him to continue to get better, just like the rest of our team. But we’re happy and excited for him. He earned it.”
Noblesville is now 7-4 for the season and is now off until next Saturday, Jan. 6 when it takes a trip to Muncie Central.
Noblesville’s Xavier Hines made six 3-pointers for the Millers in their semi-final game with Broad Ripple during the Noblesville Holiday Tournament on Thursday. The Millers won their semi-final to reach the championship game, where they fell in a tough contest with undefeated Warren Central. (Richie Hall)