By CRAIG ADKINS
NOBLESVILLE – It’s always a great defensive battle throughout when Fishers and Noblesville get together on the hardwood. It wasn’t any different on Friday night at The Mill when the two opened up conference play.
The first half seemed like déja vu in a sense that the score was eerily familiar to last year’s at Fishers. Last year’s game, Fishers led at halftime 15-4, but Noblesville managed to a comeback to win 27-22.
This game would turn out much different, as the visiting Tigers found their way in the second half, widening the gap every chance they got, running away with a 54-36 win to begin Hoosier Crossroads Conference play.
A defensive stalemate during the first, it was tied 3-3 after one quarter.
Fishers went on an 11-6 run to end the first half to lead 14-9 through two periods.
It became a game of runs for the Tigers in the second half.
Noblesville cut the deficit back to two on a Zack Johnson three from the left wing, but Fishers struck right back with and 11-0 spurt, thanks in big part to a pair of treys from Alex Szilagyi and three buckets and a free throw from freshman Jeffrey Simmons, forcing the Millers to burn a timeout with 4:53 left in the third, down 25-13.
“The third quarter, we struggled,” said Noblesville head coach Brian McCauley on the effect Fishers’ 21-10 third quarter had on his Millers.
“What we want to do offensively is play inside-out. We have to attack inside-out. That puts pressure on the defense. It gives us opportunities to get to the free throw line, that often opens up inside-out shooting and we played from outside-in, and that’s one reason why we were 1-for-8 from the field (in the first quarter), so we’ve got to get better in that area,” said McCauley on the Millers’ rough start shooting the ball, which led to playing from behind most of the night.
“I think one of the phrases we use is ‘stay on the rock,” said Fishers head coach Matt Moore on his team’s approach.
“You never know when the rock’s going on split. You keep swinging, you keep swinging, you keep swinging and eventually if you stay consistent enough, you’re going to be able to break through and I think that’s what we were able to do tonight,” Moore continued on what he’s got instilled in his team.
The Tigers added another 10-6 push to end the third at 35-19, really showing what they could do in transition.
“We did a good job adjusting in the second half. I thought we sped them up a little bit. We forced them to take some shots that we could then lead into transition and that’s where we’re at our best,” said Matt Moore as he talked about his team’s ability to make key plays in transition down the stretch that ultimately helped give the Tigers space on the scoreboard.
When everything went right for Fishers, that was when Noblesville was just unable to find answers to what the Tigers brought to the table in the second half.
Fishers kept their foot on the gas at the right times and they did exactly what it took to start conference play off on the right foot.
The Tigers spread the ball around really well in the fourth period, getting six from Josiah Matthews, five from Willie Jackson and a few others chipping in the rest of the 19. Zack Johnson also scored six in the fourth, to highlight the Miller points, but it would be far short as Fishers pushed past Noblesville with ease in the second half en route to a 54-36 win.
“This was a ‘sectional week’ for us,” said Moore, referring to the type of schedule for both teams. “Noblesville didn’t play until tonight (nine days off) and Mount Vernon doesn’t play until tomorrow night, so for us, we’re just trying to put ourselves in the position to make sure that we’re ready to play the next game,” said Moore on preparing his Tigers this week for playing back-to-back on Friday and Saturday this week.
Noblesville (1-1, 0-1 HCC) gets its first loss on the young season. The Millers will take some time to dissect this one and prepare for their own back-to-back next weekend, hosting Carmel (2-0) on Friday, Dec. 7 and Anderson (1-1) on Saturday, Dec. 8.
The Millers were led by 11 points from Johnson, while Jordan Schmidt finished with a gritty 10.
Fishers (2-2, 1-0 HCC) won its second in a row and will stay on the road on Saturday to face Mount Vernon (1-1).
The Tigers were able to get three into double-figures. Freshman Jeffrey Simmons led all scorers with a game-high 15 points and six boards. Josiah Matthews was consistent with 12, while Alex Szilagyi had 11, nine of those in the third of three from downtown. Terry Hicks also added eight points and five rebounds.
Fishers 54, Noblesville 36
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Josiah Matthews 4-5 4-4 12 1
Willie Jackson 2-7 1-2 6 2
Alex Szilagyi 4-6 0-0 11 2
Jeffrey Simmons 6-9 3-6 15 1
Terry Hicks 4-5 0-1 8 1
Dominic Castellani 0-0 0-0 0 1
Emmanuel Davis 0-0 1-2 1 0
Justin Long 0-0 0-2 0 2
Luke Hernandez 0-0 0-0 0 2
Roman Molden 0-1 0-0 0 1
Zach Webb 0-1 0-0 0 0
Geoffrey Brown 0-0 0-0 0 2
Totals 20-34 9-17 53 15
Fishers 3-point shooting (4-8) Szilagyi 3-4, Jackson 1-2, Molden 0-1, Simmons 0-1.
Fishers rebounds (26) Simmons 6, Hicks 5, Jackson 3, Matthews 1, Hernandez 1, Brown 1, team 9.
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Jaron Youree 1-4 0-0 3 2
Jordan Schmidt 3-8 2-3 10 1
Eagan Keever-Hill 1-2 0-0 3 5
Zack Johnson 4-9 2-4 11 4
Xavier Hines 1-8 0-0 2 4
Brendan Fisher 0-0 0-0 0 0
Jordan Gadis 0-1 3-4 3 1
Alex Hunt 2-4 0-3 4 2
Evan Wilson 0-2 0-0 0 0
Parker Davis 0-0 0-2 0 0
Totals 12-38 7-16 36 19
Noblesville 3-point shooting (5-18) Schmidt 2-6, Youree 1-2, Johnson 1-2, Keever-Hill 1-1, Hines 0-5, Hunt 0-1, Wilson 0-1.
Noblesville rebounds (21) Keever-Hill 5, Youree 2, Gadis 2, Johnson 2, Hines 2, Hunt 2, Davis 2, Fisher 1, Schmidt 1, team 2.
Score by Quarters
Fishers 3 11 21 19 – 54
Noblesville 3 6 10 17 – 36
Fishers freshman Jeffrey Simmons uses the soft touch to get the ball in the basket during the Tigers’ game with Noblesville Friday at The Mill. Simmons was one of three Fishers scorers in double figures. (Kent Graham)
Noblesville’s Jordan Schmidt scored 10 points for the Millers. (Kent Graham)