NORTH BEND - In a game where both teams win - and win a lot - the Pender Pendragons reign victorious over the North Bend Central Tigers 43-33 on Thursday night.

Both East Husker teams are coming off state championships in March, where the Tigers took home the Class C1 crown and Pender winning it all in Class C2

Now in Class D2, Pender traveled to North Bend with a 6-0 record, while NBC looked to improve upon their unfamiliar 1-3 start.

Both the Pendragons and the Tigers played a fairly defensive first quarter of basketball, with the teams trading leads. Lindsay Emanuel and Lauren Sterup were the early options for North Bend Central, while Pender found scoring from the Wayne transfers, Jala and Kyla Krusemark.

Pender began finding success from beyond the arc, knocking down a couple three's and hurting North Bend Central on the dribble drive. The Pendragon's lone senior in the starting lineup, Avery Wegner, stood out as the go-to option throughout the second quarter.

Pender took a 17-13 lead into halftime and out of the break, continued to score.

The Pendragons lead by nine points midway through the third quarter, but the Tigers weren't done.

In a flash, Emanuel and Sterup helped lead the Tigers back in the ballgame after an 8-0 run made it 24-23.

That's when Hadley Walsh became the hot hand for Pender, knocking down two three's near the end of the quarter and helping the Pendragons take a lead into the fourth.

Pender managed to get out to a double-digit lead early in the fourth and NBC wasn't able to climb back into the contest.

The Pendragons knocked down a few big foul shots and held NBC off for a huge road victory in the East Husker Conference, 43-33.

Avery Wegner and Hadley Walsh led the way for Pender, scoring 14 points each. Jala and Kyla Krusemark each had 5 points.

Lauren Sterup was NBC's leading scorer with 13 points followed by Lindsay Emanuel with 12.

Pender remains a perfect 7-0 and heads into a battle with Stanton on Thursday.

North Bend Central drops to 1-4, the first time losing four games in a single season since 2018-19. The Tigers look to capture a big win against Battle Creek on Thursday.