—Photo by Iowa Central athletics iowa central’s CJ Mitchell drives to the basket on Friday inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

The 13th-ranked Iowa Central men moved to 3-0 on the year with an 84-78 victory over North Central Missouri here Friday night inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

After picking up wins at the Iowa Lakes Classic over No. 11 Milwaukee Area Tech and Marshalltown, the Tritons used another strong offensive showing in their home opener as part of the Great Western Classic.

Through three games this season, Iowa Central is averaging almost 93 points a night, as sophomore CJ Mitchell led the way vs. North Central Missouri with a team-high 25 points, knocking down 5 of 7 three-pointers.

Fellow returning sophomores Jordan Cain, Aleix Sempere and Jalen Wynter all reached double figures on the scoreboard for first-year head coach Mason Denholm. Cain had 17, Sempere 16 with eight rebounds and Wynter scored 11.

“Really proud of our group for their effort,” Denholm said. “I thought we really battled and played as a connected group for 40 minutes.

“When we needed to get a stop, we found a way. When you play such a talented and well coached team like North Central, it’s not always pretty, but at the end of the day, our group found a way and that’s what it takes to win these types of games.”

North Central Missouri received a game-high 26 points from Camden Bennett, as Deng Gak had 24 with 16 rebounds before fouling out.

Mitchell and Wynter knocked down six of the seven made triples for the Tritons, as the five starters combined for all but seven points. Tashun Pender added eight points with six rebounds, five blocked shots and two assists, as Manny Lueth came off the bench to provide four points, four blocks and two rebounds.

In the second half, Mitchell accounted for 15 points, as Sempere had 14 and Cain 13. That was enough to hold off Bennett, who accounted for 19 of his 26 after the half, as he was 8 of 13 from the field during that stretch.

Sempere collected five offensive rebounds in the second half, shooting 7-for-8 from the floor as Iowa Central was 17-for-33 as a team while also making 13 of 16 at the free throw line.

The Tritons are set for a rematch with Marshalltown on Saturday at 6 p.m. Iowa Central won the first meeting, 101-71.

IOWA CENTRAL 84, NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI 78

Iowa Central — Tashun Pender 4-11 0-0 8, CJ Mitchell 8-17 4-6 25, Jalen Wynter 4-10 2-2 11, Aleix Sempere 8-12 0-1 16, Jordan Cain 5-12 7-9 17, Manny Lueth 2-5 0-0 4, Dorian Pruitt 1-6 0-0 3, Carter Loney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 32-73 13-18 84.

North Central Missouri — Camden Brown 2-11 3-5 8, Camden Bennett 11-20 4-5 26, Grant Redd 0-0 0-0 0, James Porter III 4-11 3-5 11, Deng Gak 8-14 7-8 24, Kalen Streit 1-4 1-2 4, Za’Corrie Kerr 1-4 0-0 2, Talan Holt 1-5 0-0 3. Totals: 28-69 18-25 78.

Halftime score: Iowa Central led 34-31. Total rebounds: Iowa Central 35, North Central Missouri 43. Assists: Iowa Central 6, North Central Missouri 8. Steals: Iowa Central 7, North Central Missouri 7. Blocked shots: Iowa Central 11, North Central Missouri 3. Turnovers: Iowa Central 9, North Central Missouri 12. Personal fouls: Iowa Central 19, North Central Missouri 19. Fouled out: Porter, Gak.