Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press North Central’s Luke Gorzinski drives for two of his career-high 30 points against Rapid River’s Tony DeMars during Monday’s game in Powers. Looking on for the Rockets is Tyler Sundling (10).

POWERS — A star was born on the basketball court Monday night in Powers.

From scoring a career-high 30 points, to shutting down standout point guard Tyler Sundling, North Central freshman Luke Gorzinski had his coming out party in a 66-54 victory over Rapid River.

He did it all, on both ends of the court. And when the game was over, he was the first to give credit to his teammates.

“My teammates are the ones who make it the easiest job in the world for me,” Gorzinski said. “They make it so easy for me to transition playing junior high basketball into this. It’s a new world, new speed, new everything … I love it.”

Gorzinski was limited on the offensive end early, but teammate and cousin Noah Gorzinski poured in eight points as the Jets trailed 10-9 at the end of the first quarter of the Skyline Central Conference tilt.

Luke, however, got extremely hot in the second, scoring 15 of his 30 points. His buzzer-beating triple from the top of the key at the end of the quarter gave the Jets (6-2, 6-1 SC) a 33-23 halftime lead.

“He is one of the most put together freshmen I’ve ever coached,” Jets coach Mike Malone said. “His poise, his ability to see the floor, his finishing at the rim, his transition basketball, his defense, his anticipation and his ability to beat the other guy to the spot, his rebounding (make him great). He moves his feet so quick. I just can’t say enough good things, I really can’t.”

The fifth-ranked Rockets (5-3, 4-3 SC) stayed in the game almost the entire way, mainly because of their 3-point shooting and big man Tony DeMars. The Rockets hit seven triples, and DeMars gave the Jets fits down low, especially in the first half.

After the Jets went up by 11 early in the third quarter, Griffin Flath scored inside to cut the Rockets’ deficit to 39-33 with 3:46 left in the frame.

The Jets, however, answered with a 14-4 run capped by a 3-point play by Noah Gorzinski with 7:11 remaining in the game. The Rockets pulled within 57-47 on a trey by DeMars with 4:48 to go, but that’s as close as they would get.

“Anytime we can get the Tony the ball, things are going to go better for us, and I think we lacked on that in the second half,” Rockets coach Mitch Hall said. “I didn’t think we got him the ball enough where he needed it. He shot from the perimeter a few times, but it would have been nice to just see a post entry and some scores there.”

One of the main reasons the Rockets struggled was Sundling — who entered the game averaging nearly 18 points — was held in check by Luke Gorzinski, forcing other guys to have to step up.

“Luke did an absolutely fantastic job of keeping Sundling in front of him,” Malone said. “He still got beat several times, but he did a really good job of keeping him in front of him. I was super proud.”

Noah Gorzinski chipped in 15 points for the Jets, while Brien Gronmark added 10. North Central held a 25-18 rebounding advantage.

“We executed our game plan near to perfectly, and I got 110% from every one of my guys,” Malone said. “They put their heart and soul into everything we asked them to do. They listened, they were very coachable, and I can’t ask any more. It was absolutely fantastic, as a collective (team).”

DeMars led the Rockets with 21 points and four rebounds, while Mason Kudlick added 10 points, five rebounds and two steals. Sundling was limited to seven points, five boards, two assists and two steals.

“Credit to North Central — they locked up Tyler,” Hall said. “Everytime he touched the ball they had three guys on him. It was a big challenge for us to get anything offensively… Normally our defense leads into a lot of our offense, but they did a good job controlling the ball and dissecting what we do on defense, so they had an answer for us.”

The Jets, who won the JV game 51-40, resume Jan. 28 at Mid Peninsula. The Rockets host Bark River-Harris Thursday.

Rapid River 10 13 14 17 — 54

North Central 9 24 15 18 — 66

Rapid River — Kudlick 10, Sundling 7, Moss 1, Flath 6, DeMars 21, Micheau 9. FT: 1-5; F: 11; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goals: Micheau 3, Flath 2, Sundling 1, DeMars 1.

North Central — Gronmark 10, I. Gorzinski 2, Timblin 7, N. Gorzinski 15, L. Gorzinski 30, Eichmeier 2. FT: 5-7; F: 13; Fouled out: None. 3-point field goals: L. Gorzinski 2, Gronmark 2, N. Gorzinski 1.