BUFFALO CENTER, Iowa — The North Union Warriors boys basketball team featured three double-digit scorers in its 58-49 win over the North Iowa Bison during Top of Iowa Conference action on Friday night.

Senior forward Trent Pedersen had a game-high 19 points, senior guard Nathan Eaton added 14 points and junior guard Riley Bauer produced 12 points in the win.

This was the Warriors’ second game in two days after a loss to Spirit Lake on Thursday night.

“That’s why we were a little sluggish in the first half,” Warriors head coach Alex Fisher said. “We had a lot of open looks, (but) we were 2-for-14 in the first half from the 3. So it was a rough start.”

Despite the rough start, the Warriors never trailed the Bison by more than four to start the game. Pedersen started the Warriors off with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with the assist from Bauer.

Warriors senior forward Tanner Doocy tied the game at 9 with a strong layup to end the first quarter. Bison sophomore guard Isaiah Walk took back the lead and senior Drew Jensen added on to start the second quarter.

But with a strong layup and trey, Doocy brought the Warriors back up by three.

“Tanner Doocy came in big in the second quarter. I think he scored six in the quarter to keep us going. He hit a big 3 for us,” Fisher said.

Pedersen closed out the half with a short jumper and one made free throw shot to send the Warriors into the break with a 19-18 lead.

The Warriors’ strongest quarter, though, was the third when the team outscored the Bison, 21-10, and pocketed five steals on the defensive end.

“We came out with more half-court pressure, I think that helped,” Fisher said. “We got a little more pressure on their guards, made them make a few quicker decisions. That led to some fastbreak points. We got some runouts on them, and that’s how we got the momentum going.

“We let our defense spark our offense there and that’s what we did tonight to get the win.”

Bison senior guard Austin Haisman came out of the half and drained a 3-pointer, and the Warriors took over from there.

Pedersen swiped two consecutive steals, one of which he converted into a shot. On the second, he passed up the court to Eaton, who laid in the shot with 6:56 to go in the third quarter.

Warriors senior forward Parker Oleson later found Eaton open, and Eaton swished the 3 from the top of the key for the 26-21 lead.

Jensen broke up the Warriors’ scoring run with a quick bucket, but the Warriors responded with three 3-pointers and a 40-28 advantage going into the final frame.

“It helps when your 3-point shots are falling because that gets everyone excited, gets the crowd into it,” Fisher said.

Bison senior post player Colin Weaver brought the Bison within 10 with a quick basket one minute into the quarter. The Warriors then created more distance with eight consecutive points.

Pedersen started the effort with a putback shot and Bauer used another steal to get a quick two points. He was fouled on the shot and, with the completed 3-point play, put the Warriors up 45-30 at the 6:46 juncture. Bauer converted another Pedersen steal into points and cashed in on the and-1 opportunity.

“It’s great team defense,” Fisher said. “I really liked when we brought the pressure.”

With less than five minutes to go in the game, Eaton netted a long 3 for the 51-36 advantage, and the Warriors’ final seven points were scored at the free throw line.

In addition to 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, Pedersen crashed the boards for nine rebounds and picked away four steals in the victory. Eaton added four 3-pointers, four rebounds and three steals, while Bauer recorded three steals.

Doocy came off the bench and netted 3 of 4 shots for eight points to complement three rebounds.

“Our bench did awesome for us tonight,” Fisher said. “It helps when you can go deep into the bench and keep our legs fresh for the second half.”

Haisman led the Bison with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting with four 3-pointers, and Jensen finished with 12 points and three rebounds.

North Union (1-1) host Forest City at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Armstrong.

NU    9 10 21 18–58

NI     9   9  10 21–49

NORTH UNION (58)

Trent Pedersen 6-11 6-10 19, Nathan Eaton 5-12 0-0 14, Riley Bauer 3-9 5-6 12, Tanner Doocy 3-4 1-3 8, Jared Larson 1-1 0-0 2, Eythan Blair 0-4 2-2 2, Blake Crawmer 0-0 1-2 1, Parker Oleson 0-6 0-0 0, Elliott Hagebock 0-2 0-0 0, Derek Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Will Kersten 0-0 0-0 0, Hunter Pierce 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-49 15-23 58.

NORTH IOWA (49)

Austin Haisman 5-10 2-2 16, Drew Jensen 4-5 4-5 12, Isaiah Walk 3-4 0-0 7, Colin Weaver 3-6 0-0 6, Nathan Beenken 2-7 0-1 4, Taylor Baumann 1-1 1-3 3, Noah Melz 0-0 1-2 1, Jordan Boekelman 0-1 0-0 0, Damon Olson 0-2 0-0 0, Alex Balvance 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 18-37 8-15 49.

3-pointers: North Union 7-23 (Eaton 4-9, Pedersen 1-3, Bauer 1-5, Doocy 1-1, Oleson 0-4,  Hagebock 0-1); North Iowa 5-16 (Haisman 4-8, Walk 1-1, Boekelman 0-1,  Weaver 0-1, Beenken 0-1, Olson 0-2, Balvance 0-2). Fouled out: Weaver. Rebounds: North Iowa 26 (Walk 8, Baumann and Weaver 4 each), North Union 24 (Pedersen 9, Eaton 4). Assists: North Iowa 7; North Union 5. Steals: North Union 15 (Pedersen and Eaton 4 each); North Iowa 9 (Beenken 3).

Truman/Martin Luther/ Granada-Huntley-East Chain 51, Alden-Conger 43 — Zayne Engel erupted for a game-high double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds to power the Jaguars to an eight-point victory over the Knights during the first round of the Tip-off Tournament on Friday night in Truman.

Derek Shoen produced 14 points and pulled down six rebounds for the Jaguars, while Garrett Balcom collected eight points, four assists and three steals.

The Jaguars made 19 of 43 from the floor, including 0 of 8 behind the 3-point arc, and 15 of 25 free throws on the game.

Dillian Lein and Dalton Bradley each scored 10 points to top Alden-Conger.

The Knights hit 16 of 42 field goals, including 2 of 11 behind the arc, and 7 of 11 charity tosses on the night.

The Jaguars (1-0) play Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton at 1:30 p.m. today in the Tip-off championship in Madelia.

A-C             20-23–43

TMLG        28-23–51

Minnesota Valley Lutheran 46, Martin County West 32 — Nick Fischer garnered a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds to propel the Chargers to a 14-point non-league win over the Mavericks on Friday night in Sherburn.

Jake Kettner supplied 11 points for MVL, which hit 13 of 28 shots from 2-point territory, only 2 of 20 behind the arc and 16 of 23 at the free throw line.

Josh Bjerken scored 11 points and distributed three assists to pace the Mavericks, while teammate Wyatt Geistfeld netted eight points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Cole Owens pocketed four steals for MCW.

The Mavericks made 10 of 35 from 2-point range, 2 of 9 behind the 3-point line and 4 of 13 at the charity stripe.

Martin County West (0-1) plays host to St. James Area on Thursday night in Sherburn.

MVL (2-0) plays host to Wabasso on Tuesday night in New Ulm.

MVL       17-29–46

MCW      18-14–32