Union Local’s Brody Kerns powers his way to the basket for two of his career-high 34 points Tuesday night against Magnolia inside ‘The Hangar’ on the campus of the Union Local schools. Kerns also grabbed 13 rebounds as the Jets soared to a 70-37 victory. Photo by Kim North

MORRISTOWN — Magnolia entered Tuesday night’s boys’ basketball game at Union Local missing two starters, most notably 6-7 Noah Hood.

The homestanding Jets (8-7) took advantage as 6-2 junior Brody Kerns erupted for a career-high 34 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as Union Local ran away to a 70-37 victory inside ‘The Hangar’ on the Union Local schools campus.

“It was unfortunate that Magnolia was short-handed, but that’s part of the game,” Union Local head coach Zach Delman said. “We knew we had an advantage inside and we tried to make the most of the opportunity. The kids did a great job of working the ball around and then a couple knocked down awesome outside shots that opened up the middle even more for Brody.”

Kerns had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Jets held a 33-22 lead at the half. He scored 10 points in the third quarter when Union Local took total command by outscoring the Blue Eagles (6-6) by a 24-10 margin.

“We had four freshmen out there a lot tonight. We were kids of drawing straws to find the right combination,” veteran Magnolia head coach Dave Tallman said. “I thought Drake Christen played well, so when we get Noah back, and with Kingston Christen, we’ve got three. We’re still looking for two more.

“We’ll keep on working. We’ll be okay,” he added. “Our schedule will tone down a little bit from here on.”

Magnolia also played with starter Brayden Byers who was sick.

Kerns was 16 of 18 from the floor and none of the shots came from outside the paint as he controlled the low box. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive end.

Union Local charted 23 assists on 30 made field goals, with Brody Gregor coming up one assist shy of tying the school record of 14.

“That’s big for us because part of our program is being selfless and not selfish,” Delman added. “We stress putting the team before ourselves, and that’s not easy in this day and age. We’ve got a lot of kids doing a lot of right things right now. I think we’re headed in the right direction at the right time.”

Helping the Jets was their victory last Friday over rival St. Clairsville.

“That was something we talked about before tonight’s game. How are we going to react after an emotional win over a rival,” Delman said. “It would have been easy for us to let our guard down and relax, but we didn’t. We need to stay focused because we have some winnable games ahead of us and we’re just trying to get into the top 4 of the (Class 4A) OVAC.”

Joining Kerns in double digits was Bam Porter with 14, half of which came in the third quarter outburst. Jacob Stroud added eight.

Kingston Christen paced Magnolia with 15. Young brother Drake added eight, as did Jessup Higgins in a reserve role.

Behind Kern’s performance on the boards, Union Local led 29-15. The Jets also had four less turnovers with 10.

Union Local next plays Saturday in the Buckeye 8 placement game against Indian Creek at noon inside the ECO Center. The contest will be for seventh place. Magnolia, meanwhile, returns to the hardwood on Friday when Tucker County visits New Martinsville. The Blue Eagles also host Valley on Saturday.