Wildcats make a case for county supremacy

By KEITH NIEBUHR Times Correspondent
Published January 19, 2007

BRANDON - While preparing for Wharton's vaunted offense, Brandon coach Mark Hermann gave his players a simple bit of advice.

"We told them," he said, "to find (Adam) Noble."

Too often Thursday night, the Eagles didn't. And for that, Noble made them pay.

Behind the 6-foot-1 senior guard, who scored a game-high 19, most coming via five first-half 3-pointers, the Wildcats cruised to an impressive 65-54 road win in a game between two of the county's best.

"Adam is the heart and soul of our team," Wharton coach Tommy Tonelli said. "He's our captain. He's our leader. Adam knows what to do. I don't have to tell him."

Noble wasn't the only Wildcat to shine (Shawn Vanzant had 17 points; Anthony Gomez added 15), but his play early set the tone and helped Wharton build a lead that proved too much for Brandon to overcome. In the span of four-and-a-half minutes in the opening quarter, Noble drained four 3-pointers against Brandon's zone defense as Wharton (17-1, 11-0 Class 5A, District 8) took command. Noble nailed his fifth 3-pointer 42 seconds into the second quarter to put the Wildcats ahead by nine.

Brandon (13-5, 7-4) tried to stay in it, but couldn't find any offensive rhythm until it was too late. By the half, Wharton was up 15. Despite an erratic stretch by the Wildcats to start the second half, Brandon was still behind 14 after three. And at one point in the fourth, the Eagles trailed by 17.

Six-foot-8 center Evan Ravenel scored 17 to lead the Eagles.

[Last modified January 18, 2007, 23:52:24]