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To say Dalton Noble's range includes anything this side of midcourt is only a slight exaggeration.

The Kearns High senior guard pulls up from 20 feet … 21 feet … 22 feet … from 23 feet — and the results are the same. The rim appears to be merely decoration. It's all twine all the time.

"I just try to get as close as I can," Noble said. "But whatever's open, I'll take."

Dalton Noble can shoot.

Go ahead and step out to defend him. Straddle the 3-point line, inch farther and farther into the No-Man's Land of defense, and watch as Noble lowers his shoulder and takes a blur of a first step that whips him past you and into the key.

The rest of the defense collapses and Noble spins left and makes a falling-down, one-handed scoop shot while drawing the foul. Or he simply dishes to a cutting teammate for the easiest 2 points in basketball.

"That's Dalton for you," teammate Andrew Lokeni said. "He could basically do anything, if he wanted."

Dalton Noble makes plays.

Then watch Noble maneuver through screens on defense. Notice when thought turns to instinct and he anticipates the move, steps in front of the pass, leads the Cougars on a fast break.

"We think when he raises the bar defensively, the offense will come that much more easily," Kearns coach Dan Cosby said. "If you give him a defensive challenge, he'll rise to the demands."

Dalton Noble has game.

Last week, Noble became the third player in the state to score at least 40 points in a game this season. He scored 19 in the fourth quarter — from long range as well as in the paint and at the free-throw line — as the Cougars rallied from a 22-4 deficit in the first quarter to beat Orem. Noble connected on a career-high five 3-pointers and easily surpassed his previous career high of 28 points set last year.

"We look to Dalton," Cosby said. "We look to Dalton and Drew [Lokeni] a lot, because they are our best two players. We run some plays for him and try to get him in a rhythm. … He knows we're riding his back."

The sharpshooter now has four games of 20 or more points so far this season — already twice as many as his junior season.

"I don't worry about myself too much," said Noble, who wears the same No. 24 that Cosby did as a Cougar 22 years ago. "Last year, I had to think about what I had to do, this year it just happens. I let it come to me."

He is averaging 18 points per game — six better than last season — which ranks eighth in Class 5A entering the week. The Cougars (5-4) prepare to open Region 3 play Friday against Bingham. —

Noble's effort

Kearns senior guard Dalton Noble scored a career-high 40 points last week in a victory against Orem. He is averaging 18 points per game this season, up from 12 a year ago. Says teammate Andrew Lokeni: "When we need someone to step up and make a shot, Dalton's the guy we go to."