Noblesville Boom falls to Iowa at home

The Noblesville Boom (1-3) fell to the Iowa Wolves (1-3), 126-121, Wednesday night, Nov. 11, at Riverview Health Arena at Innovation Mile in Noblesville.

Pacers two-way forward Kobe Brown paced the Boom with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers, along with six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Wade Taylor IV followed with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Cameron Hildreth and M.J. Iraldi added 17 points apiece, while Keba Keita notched his first double-double of the season.

Iowa was led by Nate Santos, who finished with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while Enrique Freeman added 23 points, four rebounds and three assists. Rocco Zikarsky and Jules Bernard each contributed 20 points, with Zikarsky also recording a game-high five blocks.

Noblesville established the early advantage behind an efficient opening quarter. The Boom shot 52 percent from the field and scored 18 points in the paint, using a balanced attack to take a 32-24 lead after one while Taylor led the way with seven points in the period.

The Wolves pulled within one midway through the second quarter before the Boom answered with a three-pointer from Taylor to take a 46-43 lead. Noblesville later stretched the advantage to nine as Hildreth scored nine points in the quarter, helping the Boom carry a 67-58 lead into halftime. Hildreth, Taylor, Brown, and Iraldi each had 13 points at the break.

The game shifted in the third quarter as Iowa erased Noblesville’s nine-point halftime advantage. The Wolves shot 60 percent from the field and outscored the Boom 37-21 in the period. Iowa took its first lead of the half at 70-69 and eventually stretched the margin to 12 before a late Brown 3-pointer helped the Boom trim the deficit to 95-88 entering the fourth quarter.

Noblesville responded in the fourth, shooting 57.1 percent from the field (12-of-21) and outscoring Iowa, 33-29, in the frame. The Boom erased a seven-point deficit and took a 103-102 lead with 7:06 remaining. Brown later gave Noblesville a 105-104 advantage before RJ Felton and Kowacie Reeves Jr. scored on consecutive possessions to push the lead to a quarter-high three, 109-106, with less than five minutes remaining.

Iowa answered down the stretch, eventually building a 123-113 advantage with 58.8 seconds remaining. Noblesville made one final push, cutting the deficit to 123-121 with 10.8 seconds remaining, until Iowa added a late free throw to hold off the Boom for the 124-121 victory.

The Boom hit the road for a two-game series against the Motor City Cruise, beginning tonight, Nov. 13, at Wayne State Fieldhouse. Coverage will be available on NBA.com and the NBA App, with tipoff set for 6:30 p.m.