(Milan, IN) —It was knotted at 17. It was knotted at 30. It was knotted at 43 deep in the fourth quarter. But when Milan needed someone to break a tie game wide open, Micah Norman answered — as he almost always does.
The senior guard, already the all-time leading scorer in Milan Indians history, poured in 30 points Saturday night to lead the Indians past the Jac-Cen-Del Eagles 70-61 in an Ohio River Valley Conference rivalry matchup at Milan High School. The win improved Milan to 10-10 on the season and 3-2 in conference play, with sectional play looming less than two weeks away.
For three and a half quarters, Jac-Cen-Del more than held its own. The Eagles, who entered at 4-16 and coming off a season-snapping win the night before against Switzerland County — their first victory in 11 games — hung with Milan possession for possession, trading runs and refusing to wilt despite foul trouble and a raucous home crowd.
A Game of Ties — Until Norman Took Over
The first quarter set the tone for what would be a breathtaking evening of basketball. Neither team led by more than a few possessions, and a buzzer-beating floater by Milan’s Ethan Clark — returning from a back injury he suffered against South Dearborn — tied things at 17 at the end of the opening frame.
The second quarter was more of the same. Jac-Cen-Del junior Darian Grieshop, Milan’s most pressing problem all night, caught fire from the perimeter and would finish the half with 13 points. A late basket by the Eagles tied things again at 30 at halftime.
Both teams came out of the locker room trading blows through the third quarter. Blake Wagner, the Jac-Cen-Del junior who had been hobbled by foul trouble since the first quarter, returned to the game and contributed toughness in the paint. Milan answered each Jac-Cen-Del push, and a buzzer-beating layup from Grant Langferman at the end of the third gave the Indians a slim 45-43 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
The Fourth Quarter: Norman Does What Norman Does
The fourth quarter was a microcosm of the entire evening — back and forth, lead changes, big shots on both ends — until Norman seized control. With Milan clinging to a 51-50 lead and the game very much in the balance, Norman stepped back from deep on the left wing and buried a three-pointer. That basket pushed Milan’s lead to four, and the Indians never looked back.
Norman finished with 30 points on a night when Milan needed every single one of them. Gabe Riehle added 17 points and was effective finishing at the rim and drawing fouls — including an and-one in the fourth quarter that helped blow the game open. Langferman had 13 points, including the crucial third-quarter buzzer-beater. Clark contributed 6 points in his return to the lineup.
“In a game like that, you got to throw records out the window,” WRBI analyst Brad Fentress observed during the broadcast. “You get two teams that are this close to each other — you never know what’s going to happen.”
Grieshop Keeps Eagles Alive
For Jac-Cen-Del, Grieshop was spectacular. The junior guard finished with 24 points and repeatedly created offense for the Eagles — off the dribble, from beyond the arc, and by putting pressure on Milan’s defense in the lane. He scored nine of his points in a single third-quarter stretch that helped the Eagles stay within striking distance.
Wagner, who picked up three fouls in the opening minutes and spent a significant portion of the first half on the bench, came alive in the fourth quarter with 11 of his 13 points in the final period, including three three-pointers. It was a remarkable late surge, but the deficit proved too deep to overcome.
“We’re not going to stop them,” Eagles head coach Scott Smith said of Milan’s top players before the game. “We just kind of want to contain them. They’re gonna get their 18. We just don’t want any more than that. But we got to make sure that no one else on their team gets hot and has double figures because that’s when they get really dangerous.”
As it turned out, two other Indians did reach double figures — Riehle with 17 and Langferman with 13 — and that proved to be the difference.
Will Meyer added 9 points for Jac-Cen-Del, Brody Huff had 6, and Caden Kohlman added 5 off the bench. Beckham Comer, Lane Simon and Neil Sullivan each contributed as well.
The Free Throw Line: Milan’s Deciding Edge
If there was a single statistical category that separated the two teams, it was free throw shooting in the second half. Milan went 12-of-15 from the stripe after halftime, including a stretch of eight consecutive makes at a crucial juncture in the fourth quarter. When the Indians needed stops and conversions in the final two minutes, they delivered both.
Milan coach Matt Pickerill said his team’s gameplan was simple going in: “Just play fast. Get up and down the floor. We want to use our athleticism and just try to score as many points as we can tonight and just not let them get set up or get comfortable.”
It worked.
Norman’s Record and What’s Next
The victory gave Milan something else to celebrate beyond the win: momentum heading into what could be a difficult postseason. Norman, who broke the school’s all-time career scoring record Tuesday night against Waldron — surpassing Ryan Hixson’s previous mark of 1,545 points — continues to build on his lead atop the Indians’ record books.
“There’s as good two players as you’re going to find in the state of Indiana,” Smith acknowledged before the game, referring to Norman and Riehle, “and it’s just really hard to stop.”
With Class 1A Sectional 60 — a bracket Milan will host — coming in less than two weeks, the Indians appear to be finding their footing at the right time. The road will not be easy. Standing in the way of a potential sectional title run is the Hauser Jets, ranked third in Class 1A and fresh off a 76-48 drubbing of Milan the night before at Hope.
Milan has two regular season games remaining: a home date with Shawe Memorial on Tuesday night, followed by a road trip to Union County the following Friday. For Jac-Cen-Del, the season comes down to one final game — a road trip to South Ripley next Friday night. You can hear that game on 103.9 FM and the WRBI App.
