GARDEN CORNERS — It didn’t take long for senior Parker Pederson to establish a new boys’ career scoring record at Big Bay de Noc High School here Tuesday night.

He got it on a layup less than three minutes into this non-conference basketball game, helping the Black Bears earn a hard-fought 42-39 triumph over Rock Mid Peninsula.

Pederson, who scored 20 points in this match-up, pushed his career total to 1,290 which is 20 more than the previous record by Scott Farley in 1992.

“Parker is an excellent player,” Big Bay coach Gunnar Mickelson said. “That’s quite an accomplishment. He also got eight rebounds and seven steals tonight which says a lot about him.”

Ironically, Pederson went over the 1,000-point mark in a 71-40 loss at Mid Pen Dec. 16.

“Parker is a very good player,” Mid Pen coach Carl Brunngraeber said. “He’s very deserving of that.”

Interestingly enough, the Big Bay girls hung on for a 42-39 victory over Carney-Nadeau in their contest.

“This was really a good test,” Big Bay coach Bob Peterson said. “They’re very young, but they played really hard. This was good preparation for this weekend’s Northern Lights League tournament (at Lake Superior State University).”

The boys’ game was close all the way.

Mid Pen took a 34-31 lead on a jump shot from the lane by sophomore Lewis Holmes with 5:18 left in the contest.

Sophomore Mason Gembel split a pair of free throws to bring the Black Bears within two points at 3:46, then scored on a set shot from the right corner to put them up by a point.

Big Bay got a little breathing room on a 20-foot jumper by freshman Finley Morris before Holmes brought the Wolverines within 38-36 on a putback.

Sophomore Tanner Peterson went 2-of-4 on two trips to the charity stripe to put the Black Bears up 40-36.

With 15 seconds remaining, however, sophomore Christian VanDamme sank a 24-foot jumper from the left wing to shave Mid Pen’s deficit to 40-39.

Peterson and sophomore Ryan Lotz secured the decision by hitting a free throw apiece in the final 7.4 seconds.

“Mason had a good game,” Mickelson said. “He was battling on the boards and hit some big shots for us, and Finley came up with a big steal and hit a big three. We pulled it together tonight. Defensively, I couldn’t ask for more from the guys. Lewis Holmes had a good game from them. It’s unfortunate Cyler (Brunngraeber) had that ankle injury. He’s a great kid. It’s tough to see that. You never want to see a kid get injured.”

Mid Pen took a 28-22 lead on a layup by junior Jaykob Dahm late in the third frame.

Big Bay answered with a 7-0 run, taking a 29-28 lead on Pederson’s 20-foot jumper from the right wing.

“We worked hard to get to that point, then kind of fell apart,” coach Brunngraeber said. “Both teams are fast, but things got kind of helter-skelter which is the type of game we don’t thrive on.”

Holmes finished with 19 points for the Wolverines, who committed 27 turnovers. The Black Bears had 24 miscues.

“Not having Cyler hurt us,” coach Brunngraber said. “We turned the ball over too much, but when you have two young teams you’re going to get that.”

The Black Bears, winners of four straight, improved to 7-10. Mid Pen (1-12) visits Rapid River Friday.

“We’re riding a four-game winning streak which is always beneficial going into a league tournament,” Mickelson said. “We play Friday at 2 p.m. (in Sault Ste. Marie). If we win that game, we’ll be going back-to-back which is always a challenge.”

In the girls’ contest, Big Bay took a 32-22 lead on a three-foot jumper by senior Caraghan Thill with 3:07 remaining in the third quarter, forcing the Wolves to use a time-out.

Sophomore Jayden Laurin drained a jumper from downtown to bring the Wolves within 32-25.

A putback by Thill put the Black Bears up by nine.

Laurin then got a steal and layup to bring C-N within 34-27 at the end of the third.

Big Bay gained a 40-30 advantage on a pair of gifters by Thill with 4:58 left in the game.

After the Wolves cut their deficit to five points, Thill gave the Black Bears a 42-35 cushion on a putback.

C-N freshman Makenna Thiry drove down the boulevard for a layup to trim the Wolves’ deficit to 42-37, then hit an additional layup to bring them within the final three-point margin.

The Wolves took a 16-6 lead on a 20-foot jumper by eighth-grader Caroline Corrigan early in the second frame.

Big Bay responded with 10 unanswered points, tying the score on a fast break layup by Thill with 3:20 left in the second.

Thill tied the score again at 18 with another fast break layup, then added a putback and a steal and yet additional layup to put the Black Bears up 22-18.

A pair of free throws by seventh-grader Bailey Corrigan got the Wolves within 22-20.

Sophomore Payton Pederson then sank a 21-foot set shot from the right wing, enabling the Black Bears to bring a 25-20 lead into the halftime locker room.

The Wolves were within 25-22 early in the third before the Black Bears answered with a 7-0 run.

“Turnovers were the difference,” C-N coach Paul Polfus said. “We got off to such a good start and were taking care of the ball, then we started turning it over in the second quarter. Although, we did a better job of that in the second half.”

Both teams had six miscues in the opening frame. The Wolves, however, turned the ball over nine times and the Black Bears had just one in the second stanza.

Big Bay finished with 16 turnovers and C-N had 26.

“I thought we’d keep stretching the lead, yet they kept coming back,” coach Pederson said. “We were really good on the offensive boards, but missed quite a few shots.”

Thill scored 25 points and sophomore Destiny Bleau hit 13 for the Black Bears. Laurin had 13 for the Wolves, who host Bark River-Harris tonight.

BOYS

Mid Peninsula 9 7 12 11 — 39

Big Bay de Noc 6 9 14 13 — 42

Rock Mid Peninsula — Cason Brunngraeber 2, Cyler Brunngraeber 5, Dahm 2, Peterson 1, S. Holmes 2, VanDamme 8, L. Holmes 19. FT: 6-9; F: 14; Fouled out: S. Holmes; 3-point field goals: VanDamme 2, Cyler Brunngraeber.

Big Bay de Noc — Gembel 8, M. Rochefort 2, Lotz 5, Pederson 20, Peterson 4, Morris 3. FT: 7-16; F: 14; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Pederson 3, Gembel, Morris.

GIRLS

Carney-Nadeau 13 7 7 12 — 39

Big Bay de Noc 6 19 9 8 — 42

Carney-Nadeau — Laurin 13, Wolf 2, Thiry 7, C. Corrigan 5, Ernest 8, B. Corrigan 4. FT: 5-8; F: 14; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goals: Laurin, Thiry, C. Corrigan, Ernest.

Big Bay de Noc — Bleau 13, Pederson 3, Durrance 1, Thill 25. FT: 9-17; F: 9; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goal: Pederson.