Todd Rose | Daily Press North Central’s Jesse Sampson (22) lifts the ball toward the net on a layup while Bark River-Harris’ Logan Getzloff (21) defends Tuesday night in Harris.

HARRIS — The North Central boys picked up their scoring pace in the third quarter here Tuesday night in a 60-41 basketball triumph over the Bark River-Harris Broncos.

North Central led 26-21 at halftime, then outscored the Broncos 23-8 in the third stanza of this Skyline Central Conference match-up.

“We shot the ball real well in the second half,” said Jets’ coach Mike Malone. “We’re getting better at attacking the rim. The pieces are coming together.”

The Broncos were still within 33-27 two minutes into the third quarter of Nicholas Lippens’ varsity coaching debut.

North Central went on a 16-2 run through the remainder of the third, gaining a 49-29 advantage on a layup by junior Connor Florenski.

“They got on a run in the second half and brought us out of our zone,” said Lippens. “The zone worked good in the first half, but they adjusted to it. We looked like a team playing its first game against one of the best teams. The guys had a lot of nervous energy. It’s tough to play your first game against a rival.”

An 18-foot jumper by senior Bradey Anderson gave the Jets an insurmountable 58-31 advantage midway through the fourth before the Broncos finished the game with a 9-2 run.

The Jets raced to a 17-5 lead after the first quarter, then made it 19-5 on a layup by senior Trent Naser slightly more than two minutes into the second.

BR-H answered with an 11-2 run, pulling within 19-16 on a 20-foot jumper from the left wing by Logan Getzloff midway through the second.

“He hit some big threes,” said Malone. “He was little bit of a problem for us.”

North Central extended its lead to 26-18 on a layup by Florenski with 46.3 seconds remaining before halftime.

Trevor Lippens then trimmed the Broncos’ deficit to five points on a 20-foot jumper from the right wing with 20 seconds left.

Florenski finished with 22 points. Anderson added 11. Junior Jesse Sampson hit 10, and Luke Gorzinski had nine.

“Connor played a real smooth game,” said Malone. “He shoots the ball pretty well and is very effective in transition and half-court game. Every game he gets a little better. He still needs to work on his game in the defense department, but he’s getting there.

“Luke has real good jump timing and a good vertical jump. He’s our best offensive rebounder and has a lot of natural ability, and Jesse is a rebounding machine. He runs the floor well and attacks the rim. Jesse crashes the glass, which is exactly what I want to see him do.”

Trevor Lippens finished with 13 points for the Broncos, who host Rapid River Dec. 30.

“They (Jets) came out strong,” said coach Lippens. “We limited their fast break in the first half, then they adjusted and ran the floor well. The kids were excited to play. It was 35 days from our first practice to the first game. A lot of kids were playing their first game. We have a lot of things to work on.”

The Broncos committed 14 turnovers, and the Jets had 12.

North Central, which also won the JV game 66-50, visits Norway Jan. 3.

North Central  17  9  23  11  —  60

BR-Harris  5  16  8  12  —  41

  North Central — Florenski 22, Anderson 11, Gorzinski 9, Naser 4, Sampson 10, Walters 2, Cordy 2. FT: 5-9; F: 11; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Florenski 2, Anderson 2, Gorzinski.

  Bark River-Harris — Miley 5, Martin 2, Mosse 3, Lippens 7, Getzloff 13, Drossart 1, Johnson 8, Tufnell 2. FT: 2-8; F: 9; Fouled out: None.