Noblesville 67, Zionsville 53

Out to an 8-0, maintaining a two to three possession lead the entire first half, thanks in part to Luke Almadovar and EJ Smith's scoring.  Zionsville scored the first two baskets in the 2nd half to cut their five point deficit down to one, but an Almadovar 3PTer sparked a 9-0 run.  Preston Roberts' 15 points in the second half sealed the deal for Noblesville.

• Almadovar can shoot off the pass and off the dribble.  He can also finish around and through traffic.  He put all of that on display last night, especially early, as mentioned above, and, as Zionsville extended their defense, late.
• Roberts is miscast as Noblesville's starting center, but defensively he's strong enough and quick enough at the HS level to get the job done.  It was his defensive effort that stymied Zionsville's Nick Richart, both in terms of scoring and rebounding.
  • Offensively, he got going in the second half when a majority of his catches put him in isolation vs. Rickhart from the nail hole or top of the key.
• Zionsville never capitalized on their size advantage.  Noted above, Richart struggled in the low post, and while Isaiah Davis hit a couple of 3PTers, he wasn't a factor on the defensive glass.
• The back breaker was the struggles of Logan Imes.  Imes wasn't getting downhill in the first half, and it seemed like their were opportunities to do so as Noblesville was rotating in and out of their ball screen hedges.  He was more aggressive in the second half, finally getting to the line.  He missed his first two FT's, just to supply one more nail in their coffin.
  • Imes scored his first points between the three and four minute marks in the third quarter, ending with 9 points overall.
  • At his best, Imes is a high level shot creator and mis-range scorer, who is a better shooter from range off the pass than off the dribble.  He couldn't get anything to drop for 2.5 quarters.

Westfield 62, Fishers 44

Westfield never trailed in this game, and while they didn't have the early control that Noblesville did in the first game, the game got out of hand after Jalen Haralson picked up his second foul shortly after a 2nd quarter timeout.  Westfield, ahead 17-12, stretched their lead to 30-15.  Westfield pushed their lead to 20 quickly to start the second half and rarely looked back.

• Braden Smith was Braden Smith.  I'd guess he was responsible for 80% of Westfield's offense in the first half, either scoring or assisting, and it took until the end of the third quarter before Fishers' team scoring exceeded Smith's individual scoring.
• Cam Haffner never really got going for Westfield.  It's unusual and bodes well for how dominant Westfield was.  There might be another level to their offense.
  • Picking up the slack was Nick DePasquale and Alex Romack.  DePasquale was able to sneak through in transition, while Romack, especially in the second half, was the great ball screen partner we've touted of him all season.
• Fishers' offensive attack never got going.  Jeffrey Simmons struggled to get anything in the low post.  He was guarded by a perimeter player the entire game, while Romack camped at the rim, effectively daring his man to shoot while being a guarantee double on Simmons when he was able to back his man down.
• Haralson is going to be that NEXT guy.  He did most of his damage in the second half when the game was mostly lost, but his movement with purpose off the ball is a huge asset he has.  As his range improves, perhaps showing an ability to hit contested shots, he'll be the HM prospect we all think he is.
  • Defensively, he was on Haffner, so he's able to take on a D1 level guard and effectively shut him down.  Though in defense of Haffner, the rest of the Westfield didn't meet much resistance, so there wasn't a need to get him going.