BOWDLE – Aberdeen Christian built an early lead and pulled away from North Central for its fifth straight boys’ basketball win on Tuesday night.

The Knights gradually extended their lead on the way to a 61-32 Lake Region Conference victory.

Christian took a 13-6 lead in the opening quarter and continued to build the lead in the second, eventually taking a 32-17 lead into the halftime break.

Despite the double-digit advantage, Christian coach Aaron Moeller said shots were not falling as much as he would have liked in the first half.

“Even though we were up by (15) at the half, I didn’t feel like we played exceptionally well in the first half,” Moeller said. “The shot chart looked pretty good. We were getting shots where we wanted them, but the ball just wasn’t going in for us.”

Despite giving up a few shots on the defensive end, Moeller was pleased with how his defense played.

“Defensively we gave up a couple of threes,” Moeller said. “Once we switched to man, those kind of went away.”

The Knights broke the contest open in the third quarter, outscoring the Thunder 20-8 to take a commanding 52-25 lead into the final period.

“We got the ball inside and got some easy opportunities that really broke the game open in the third quarter,” Moeller said.

Joey Johnson led the Knights with 22 points, while Brooks Jett had 14. Konnar Furman totaled 12.

North Central was led by Raynor Sprague with 18 points. The Thunder (2-9) will play Lyman on Saturday in the Highmore Classic.

Aberdeen Christian (6-4) will host Northwestern on Thursday.

“Northwestern always plays extremely tough,” Moeller said. “They’ve got (Nathan) Melius and (Lincoln) Woodring who are really fantastic players, and you’ve really got to know where they’re at on the court. They’re a lot better team than their two-win record shows, and if we’re not ready, they’re a team that will give us some fits and they can beat us, so we’ve really got to be ready.”

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (6-4): Ellis Russell 1 0-0 2, Becker Bosma 2 0-0 4, Konnar Furman 6 0-2 12, Joey Johnson 6 10-11 22, Brooks Jett 7 0-0 14, Jett Johnson 1 0-0 3, Dylan Hofer 1 0-0 2, Luke Kaiser 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 10-13 61.

NORTH CENTRAL (2-9): Brady Beitelspacher 0 0-2 0, Raynor Sprague 6 3-4 18, Cole Beitelspacher 2 0-0 5, Dawson Walz 1 0-0 2, Kobe Wherry 1 0-0 2, Trent Beyers 1 0-0 2, Cooper Oxner 1 0-0 3. Totals 12 3-6 32.

Aberdeen Christian 13 32 52 61

North Central 6 17 25 32

3-point field goals – Jett Johnson; R. Sprague (3), C. Beitelspacher, Oxner. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 10; North Central 11.