Sam Nielsen

ARMSTRONG — Morgan Christian scored a game-high 16 points and teammate Bradi Krager chipped in 15 more to spearhead the Sioux Central Rebels’ 44-31 comeback win over the North Union Warriors during Iowa Class 2A postseason basketball action Tuesday night in Armstrong.

Trailing 22-17, the Rebels (14-8) outscored the Warriors by a 27-9 margin in the second half to advance to Friday’s 7 p.m. Region 2 semifinal against Sibley-Ocheyedan at the Generals’ home court.

Sibley-Ocheyedan gained the next round of the playoffs by posting a 59-31 quarterfinal win over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn.

North Union ended its season with a 16-6 overall record, while Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn exited the postseason tournament with a 7-16 record.

Post player Sam Nielsen neared double-double territory for the Warriors by scoring eight points and pulling down 11 rebounds, while teammate Cassie Beadle matched Nielsen for honors with eight points to complement pocketing a game-leading seven steals.

Point guard Lily Henderson scored six points for North Union, Naomi Jones generated four points and hauled in five rebounds, while forward Olivia Von Bank garnered five boards.

The Warriors made only 9 of 29 attempts from 2-point distance for 31.0 percent, and connected on just 1 of 21 shots from behind the 3-point arc for 4.8 percent.

North Union did connect on 10 of 14 free throws for 71.4 percent on the postseason clash.

Sioux Central, which entered the playoffs having won two of its last three games of the regular season, slammed the brakes on North Union’s three-game winning streak that closed out the regular schedule.