North Central senior Spencer Willa (45) denies Carney-Nadeau eighth Grader Lane Mellen during a Division 4 district quarterfinal game on Feb. 24, 2025 at North Central High School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

SPALDING — A 17-0 run over the second and third quarters proved to be the deciding factor as North Central boys basketball defeated Carney-Nadeau 63-48 in a Division 4 district game here Monday.

The Jets went on a 17-0 run over the second and third quarters to blow the game open.

“We got back to playing our tempo in the middle two quarters,” Jets’ coach Tyler Mercier said. We were able to hit some big shots and any district win is a good district win.”

Kaden Malone started the run with a pair of layups to give the Jets a 21-19 lead.

“They came out hot against us tonight,” Malone said. “We picked up our intensity on the defensive end of the ball and that opened things up for us on offense.”

Lane Gorzinski added a layup and three free throws to extend the Jets lead to 26-19 and a mid-range jumper by Malone late in the second quarter gave the Jets a 28-19 halftime lead.

The Jets picked up where they left off in the third quarter as Gorzinski drove to the basket for a layup and Spencer Willa followed it up with a layup of his own extending the Jets lead to 32-19.

Carney-Nadeau went 12:26 without a field goal from the 4:15 mark of the second quarter til 7:49 to go in the fourth quarter.

Jordan Walters hit a 3-pointer from the corner extending the Jets lead to 37-21. and a powerful drive to the basket by Gorzinski gave the Jets a 41-21 lead.

“We knew what we were capable of,” Gorzinski said. “We knew we had to keep bringing our energy and we started to lock down on them defensively and that got us rolling.”

Gorzinski and Malone led the way for the Jets with 17 points each.

The Wolves were led by Sam Salo with 13 points Lane Mellen had 12 and Kayne Wilson had 10.

“We hit some big shots early in the game,” Wolves coach Mike Polfus said. “We had a long stretch where we went cold, but I was proud of our guys tonight. They fought hard the whole way.”

The Jets travel to Norway on Wednesday.

Box score

Carney-Nadeau 16 3 7 22 — 48

North Central 11 17 26 9 — 63

Carney-Nadeau — Salo 13, Mellen 12, K. Wilson 10, Kasbohm 8, Maule 3, Thoune 2. FT: 10-13; F: 11; Fouled Out: None; 3-pointers: Mellen 4, Salo 2, Kasbohm 2, K. Wilson 2.

North Central — Stage 7, Walters 9, Malone 17, Gorzinski 17, Farley 2, Sandoval 2, Castle 4, Willa 4, Eichhorn 1. FT: 10-16; F: 19; Fouled Out: Walters; 3-pointers: Walters 3, Malone 3, Stage 1.