North Central junior Kaden Malone drives to the basket against Carney-Nadeau on Feb. 23, 2026 at North Central School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

SPALDING — The North Central Jets proved to be too much for the Carney-Nadeau Wolves here Monday night as they were victorious in a 71-38 in a division four district opener.

The Jets raced out to an early 11-2 lead as senior Brooks Castle had a pair of layups as did junior Riley Cretens who also split a pair of free throws and a mid-range jumper by senior Ben Stage.

“This was a big night for our team,” Castle said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for a game in my life. I can’t even express the feelings going on right now.”

Carney-Nadeau junior Cullen Kasbohm hit a 3-pointer to cut the Jets lead to 13-7 but the Jets answered quickly as Castle drove to the basket for a layup and junior Kaden Malone knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Jets lead to 18-7 after one quarter of play.

The Jets started the second quarter on an 11-4 run as Brody Mercier drove to the basket for a layup. Castle scored on a power move to the basket finishing with 16 points and 16 rebounds.

“Brooks gives us another legitimate option,” Jets coach Jon Haight said. He is not a basketball player by trade, he’s a baseball player. Brooks is much more comfortable with the ball in his hand and we got him the ball on the block with a size advantage and he was able to make some big plays for us.”

Jets senior Brady trudgeon knocked down a 3-pointer and Malone connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Jets up 35-16.

The Jets went into the halftime break with a 42-21 lead. Then came out in the third quarter and outscored the Wolves 16-11 in the stanza. The Wolves had 25 turnovers in the game to only 12 by the Jets.

“We turned the ball over too much tonight,” Wolves coach Mike Polfus said. “We didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball. We need to work hard in the off-season and learn from this and come back ready to play again next season.”

Malone led the way for the Jets with 19 points, Mercier had 10, Stage had nine and Riley Cretens had seven. The Wolves were led by Kayne Wilson with 11 points, Kasbohm finished with nine and Lane Mellen had seven.

The Jets will host Crystal Falls Forest Park tonight in a Division 4 district semifinal matchup.

Carney-Nadeau 7 14 11 6 — 38

North Central 18 24 16 13 — 71

Carney-Nadeau — Shepard 3, Mellem 7, Thoune 6, K. Wilson 11, Kasbohm 9, Linder 2. FT: 5-11; F: 10, Fouled Out: None; 3-pointers: K. Wilson 3, Kasbohm, Mellen.

North Central — Cretens 7, Stage 9, Trudgeon 3, Mercier 10, Malone 19, Sandoval 1, Dombrowski 4, Castle 16, Granquist 2. FT: 10-15; F: 10; Fouled Out: None; 3-pointers: Malone 3, Stage, Trudgeon.