Columbus East led from wire-to-wire, but Noblesville never went away quietly. It took a missed 3-point attempt from the Millers and two free throws from the Olympians to earn East its first win of the season, a 43-42 in its home opener on Saturday.
The Olympians led 39-37 with around 15 seconds left, but Noblesville almost had the lead when an open 3-point shot from Evan Wilson went in and out. Noblesville then had a couple fouls to give. Tyler Boyer went to the line and converted two free throws.
The Millers’ Alex Hunt then scored a basket to make it 41-39 with 2.1 seconds left. Boyer then was fouled with one second left. He converted both free throws, and that was the difference after Wilson hit a deep 3 at the buzzer.
“We kept controlling the ball and not forcing any bad passes. We kept making small, short passes,” Boyer said. “Keeping control of it and not turning it over right at the end was really clutch, and hitting free throws down the stretch helped.”
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East (1-1) jumped out to an 11-6 lead after the first quarter. After Ben Major extended the Olympians lead to 13-6, both teams exchanged points with East leading 20-15. As the first half was winding down, Preston Roberts was fouled on a 3-point shot attempt right at the buzzer. He would convert two of the three free throws to cut the Noblesville deficit to 20-17 at the half.
Boyer finished the first half with nine points for East, and Wilson converted two triples and two free throws to lead the Millers (1-1) with eight first half points.
Noblesville eventually clawed its way back into the contest midway through the third quarter following a 5-0 run capped off with a Jordan Gadis 3-pointer to tie it at 24-24 with 3:33 left. East then responded with a 6-0 run of its own, capped off by an Elliott Koopman 3-point basket. A Noah Harris bucket made it 30-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
For the Olympians, Boyer finished with a game-high 19 points and Koopman added seven. Wilson finished with 11 to lead the Millers.
“Both teams were a lot a like in the sense that they graduated some seniors as we did. We have some young players playing their first varsity games. Tyler’s got the most experience, and the same with Jacob (Pierce),” East coach Brent Chitty said. “I thought at the end (Boyer) made some great plays.”
It’s a big turnaround for the Olympians after losing to Class 3A No. 1 Silver Creek on Wednesday. Chitty said that he didn’t think his team was pleased with how they played against the Dragons.
“That’s not to take anything away from Silver Creek. They have a legit shot to do it again. They are that good. At the same time, you have to compete, and I don’t think our guys felt like they competed with the way they are capable of competing,” Chitty said. “Tonight, we came out of the gate hot. They battled through some of the things Noblesville was doing.”
