By Travis Miller
Contributing Writer
NOBLESVILLE – Defense was the name of the game Dec. 22 when Class 4A No. 20 Noblesville hosted 4A No. 10 Kokomo at The Mill.
The visiting Wildkats came in averaging 71.6 points per contest, good for 24th in the state, and had scored better than 64 points in every game on their way to a 5-0 start. But the Millers held them to a season low by allowing only two points in the second quarter and limiting the Kats to 33-percent first-half shooting in a 52-46 upset win.
Noblesville (6-1), which has now wrecked a pair of potentially perfect 4A seasons (the Millers conquered Carmel in a 68-67 overtime road victory Dec. 4), really turned that defense on at the beginning of the second stanza.
“We started out with man tonight and then switched it up to the zone, and that kind of discombobulated them a bit,” said Noblesville coach Dave McCollough. “They were out there passing the ball around and working the clock against it.”
With things tied at 12 going into the second period, neither team could generate much offense. The Millers, however, were even stingier than Kokomo.
The Wildkats managed only a putback by Braxton She’ton as Noblesville built a 21-14 halftime lead capped off by Andrew Lively’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
“There are no excuses, none at all,” Kokomo coach Brian McCauley said when asked if the short turnaround time of three tough games in five days accounted for the offensive struggles. “We have to practice against the zone and have more confidence in our ball movement.
“We’ve had 34 practices to prepare for that, and it is up to the players and the coaches to learn from this and move forward.”
Kokomo continued to struggle over the next 10 minutes as it fell behind 40-24 early in the fourth period. That’s when D.J. Balentine took it upon himself to ignite a furious rally.
Balentine scored the first seven points of a 12-0 run that saw Kokomo turn up its defensive intensity and claw back into the game. The Wildkats made the run in a little under two minutes, getting the deficit down to 40-36 at the 3:50 mark of the final period.
That was as close as Kokomo would get, however, as the Millers settled down and got to the free throw line to seal it. Noblesville was 9 of 12 from the line in the final three minutes to put the game on ice.
But it was the defense that did the damage.
“We stayed with (the zone) in the second half, and our young post players did a good job of clogging the lane against them,” McCollough said.
On one critical play, in particular, the Noblesville defense hung tough.
Trailing 43-38 with the ball and just under two minutes to play, Kokomo’s T.J. Weir attempted a long 3-pointer that was blocked by Jake Yeary. Yeary knocked Weir to the ground as he landed, but he managed to bat the loose ball to Michael Deines for a breakaway layup and a five-point shift.
Leland Brown’s play was critical on this night for the Millers. The 6’4” senior was a matchup nightmare on the perimeter for Kokomo, leading Noblesville with 18 points. Brown hit three of four free throws down the stretch to help ice the game, and his effort defensively was also critical as he helped deny Kokomo’s outside shooters.
“Both teams were pretty physical tonight, but Leland has always been a physical player,” McCollough said. “They came after us a little during that run and made us throw some bad passes that led to easy baskets.
“We had a little bit of a meltdown there, but I was proud we were able to hit some free throws to win it.”
Balentine led all scorers with 21 points for Kokomo, 17 of which came in the second half as the young sophomore continues to improve his stock. Lively finished with 14 points for Noblesville on a night that included four big 3-pointers – two of which ballooned the lead early in the second half.
Noblesville next will face Warsaw (5-1) in the 7:15 p.m. ET game of the Mackey Arena Shootout Jan. 2. Kokomo will look to avoid another upset Dec. 29 when the Wildkats host upstart Westfield (4-2) at 7:30 p.m.
The box score:
Kokomo 12 2 10 22 – 46
Noblesville 12 9 16 15 – 52
Kokomo
## Name FG 3 Pt FT PTS ORB DRB TR PF AST TO BS ST MIN
12 Dale Ray Washington 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DNP
14 * T.J. Weir 4/9 2/5 0/0 10 0 4 4 3 3 4 0 1 24:10
20 T.T. Catlett 1/3 0/0 0/0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 9:41
22 S.J. Moultrie 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DNP
24 * Brock Barbary 0/3 0/0 1/2 1 1 1 2 0 2 3 0 0 13:18
30 Armon Bridgeforth 1/6 0/1 2/2 4 2 1 3 2 1 2 1 2 20:01
32 * Cheyse Swain 2/3 0/0 0/0 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 14:58
34 * D.J. Balentine 8/17 1/6 4/4 21 3 2 5 2 1 1 0 2 28:50
40 Braxton Shelton 1/2 0/0 0/0 2 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 10:54
42 * Parker Salinas 0/2 0/1 0/0 0 1 8 9 1 0 1 0 2 26:20
50 Joe Meriwether 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DNP
54 Huston Clark 1/3 0/0 0/0 2 2 3 5 4 0 1 0 0 11:48
Team 2 2 4 1
Totals 18/48 3/13 7/8 46 12 22 34 14 7 16 1 8 160
Total FG 1st Half 6/18 33.3% 2nd Half 12/30 40.0% Game 18/48 37.5%
3 PT FG 1st Half 1/5 20.0% 2nd Half 2/8 25.0% Game 3/13 23.1%
Free Throws 1st Half 1/2 50.0% 2nd Half 6/6 100% Game 7/8 87.5%
Noblesville
## Name FG 3 Pt FT PTS ORB DRB TR PF AST TO BS ST MIN
3 Zach Gentry 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1:53
5 * Leland Brown 7/18 1/5 3/4 18 3 1 4 1 3 3 0 5 30:52
10 Mark Harmas 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DNP
12 Andrew Lively 5/10 4/9 0/0 14 1 2 3 2 0 1 0 0 22:47
20 * Brandon Mattox 1/2 0/1 5/6 7 0 3 3 1 2 3 0 0 19:11
24 * Jake Yeary 2/4 0/0 2/2 6 2 3 5 3 2 3 2 0 22:08
30 Matt Herron 0/3 0/2 0/0 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 10:51
32 * Michael Deines 1/8 0/3 3/4 5 3 4 7 2 0 1 1 3 25:39
40 Brendan Elmore 1/2 0/0 0/0 2 1 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 11:00
42 * Daniel Purvlicis 0/2 0/0 0/0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 15:39
Team 1 1 2 1
Totals 17/49 5/20 13/16 52 13 18 31 11 7 14 3 11 160
Total FG 1st Half 8/26 30.8% 2nd Half 9/23 39.1% Game 17/49 34.7%
3 PT FG 1st Half 3/12 25.0% 2nd Half 2/8 25.0% Game 5/20 25.0%
Free Throws 1st Half 2/2 100% 2nd Half 11/14 78.6% Game 13/16 81.3%
KHS NHS KHS NHS KHS NHS
Free Throw Pts 7 13 3Pt Points 9 15 Pts/Possession 0.82 0.91
Pts off Turnovers 9 11 2nd Chance Points14 10 Pts off Bench 10 16
Total Rebounds 34 31 Team Rebounds 4 2 Dead Ball Reb 1 0
Off Rebound % 40.0 37.1 Def Rebound % 62.9 60.0 Total Rebound % 52.3 47.7
3Pt Efficiency -5.5 -2.6 Def. Stops 36 34 Pts/Shot 0.88 0.91
Largest Lead: NHS 40, KHS 24 (16 pts)
Lead Changes: 1
Number of Ties: 4
Processing your request, Please wait....
