NEWTON — For the first time in nine years, the Salina Central’s boys basketball team is a league champion.

The Mustangs took control with a big second quarter and cruised to a 62-42 victory over Newton on Tuesday night at Ravenscroft Gym. In doing so, they claimed a share of the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division II title, their first since winning the AVCTL Division I championship in 2017.

It was a Central sweep as the Mustang girls also closed their conference season on a high note by knocking off Newton, 60-29.

For the Mustang boys, who improved to 14-8 overall and 10-2 in the league, it ran their winning streak to six heading into Thursday’s regular season finale at home against Campus.

Central trailed Newton (1-21, 1-11) after one quarter, 12-11, but outscored the Railers 19-4 in the second period for a 30-16 halftime cushion. The Mustangs were never threatened in the second half.

Kaeden Nienke led three double-figure scorers for the Mustangs with 21 points, with Greyson Jones adding 16 points and Grant Ostmeyer 12. Central also outrebounded Newton, 42-36, with Jones grabbing nine, Noah Peck eight and Nienke seven.

Defensively, Central forced 19 Newton turnovers.

For Newton, Christian Henderson was the lone scorer in double figures with 11 points and also had a team-high nine rebounds.

Central shared the conference title with Andover, which blew out Goddard, 60-33.

Salina Central girls 60, Newton 29

Senior guard Lexie Guerrero got Central’s girls off to a fast start and they never looked back as they rolled past Newton to improve to 12-10 with a final 8-4 Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division II record.

Guerrero had eight of her game-high 20 points first quarter in leading the Mustangs to a 19-6 lead. She had 14 points, including four of her five 3-pointers, in the first half and Central led 37-17 at the break.

The Mustangs also got seven points each from Makambri Hastings and Katy Wagner and outrebounded Newton, 31-29, with Guerrero and Wagner grabbing six each, while Macy O’Hara, Juliet Abbott and Harper Turpin adding five apiece.

Newton (1-22, 0-12 AVCTL) got 14 points from Brodi Roath and 10 from Naomi Koontz.