Pierson Brau led the Chargers (11-5) with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks, while Connor Bode had 18 points with four 3-pointers. Owen Birkholz also got in on the 3-point fun with four 3s in the game and finished with 20 points and five assists, while Blake Sexton had 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Sexton also gave the Chargers a big boost of energy in the first half after following up one of his buckets with a steal and one-handed slam dunk for a 25-22 lead.

“We were getting sticky with our offense, not moving the ball as fast, but once we started getting it moving, all our shots were good shots and they were going in,” Sexton said.

Luke Merseth chipped in 8 points for MVL, while Wyatt Feucht added six boards.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Owen Birkholz reacts after hitting a key 3-pointer during the second half of Monday night’s nonconference boys basketball game against Central at MVL High School.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Micah Fenney powered the Raiders with a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds.

While Fenney proved to be tough to contain in the paint, the Chargers did what they could to defend him with their reach and counter him on the other end with their quickness and long-range shots that saw the Chargers end up hitting 10 of 23 from beyond the arc.

“It’s great [to have those shooters] because if we get stopped inside, we know someone’s open and you have faith that they’re gonna hit it,” Sexton said.

Kolton Kley and Brayden Dent each had 12 points also for the Raiders, while Hunter Kroells added 11 points and Taylor Hackbarth pulled in seven rebounds.

The Chargers trailed 4-0 after back-to-back buckets by Fenney, who scored the Raiders’ first four buckets of the game, but MVL eventually took a 15-8 lead following back-to-back scores by Bode and a 3 by Birkholz. Central got a 3 back from Hunter Kroells but took a timeout with 10:47 left in the half to readjust.

An and-one out of the timeout by Fenney and a 3 by Brayden Dent tied it at 17-all to reset the game.

After trading leads, Sexton drove inside for a 23-22 MVL lead and then picked up a steal and turned it into a one-handed dunk and 25-22 lead. Minutes later, Bode hit back-to-back 3s to give MVL a 37-33 lead. A layup by Birkholz and a bucket inside by Sexton had MVL up 41-33 at halftime.

Sexton opened the scoring in the second half for MVL to give his team its first double-digit lead of the night. While they flirted with making a run, the Chargers were kept in check for the most part until 3s from Bode and Birkholz gave them a 59-42 lead. Fenney had a putback bucket to answer, but Bode drained another 3 and a block and assist from Trace Gunderson to Birkholz inside gave the Chargers a 64-44 lead. Moments later, a 3 by Gunderson gave the Chargers their largest lead of the night, 67-46.

The lead didn’t last long as the Raiders went on an 11-0 run to cut their deficit to 67-57 and force an MVL timeout, but the Chargers regrouped out of the break with a 3 by Brau. Kyson Evenski had a pair of free throws for the Raiders to make it a 70-59 lead, but Brau drove the baseline and dished it back out to Birkholz, who canned a straightaway 3 for a 73-59 lead.

The teams traded buckets after that, but the Chargers put things away with a dunk by Brau and a bucket from Feucht in the closing minutes.

“Our chemistry, as a team, we’re just playing really well together right now,” Sexton said. “And practices, we just get better every day and during the games.”

MVL hosts Maple River on Thursday night in a South Central Conference game. The Chargers are 2-1 in the conference.