It was Super Hero Night as the Bulldogs hosted South Umpqua on Tuesday. Much of the student body dressed up as comic book characters and cheered on the team. World Photo by Lou Sennick.

NORTH BEND — It was Super Hero Night at North Bend High School on Tuesday, and the boys basketball team might just as well have been wearing capes like many of the kids in the student section.

The Bulldogs gave a super effort on defense and used sizzling shooting in the first quarter to build a comfortable lead they maintained the rest of the way in a 65-41 win over SouthUmpqua.

“The story was our defense,” North Bend coach John Olson said.

The Bulldogs forced 31 turnovers in the game, including 22 steals. Many of those takeaways led to transition points on the other end of the court.

North Bend also limited the Lancers to 16-for-44 shooting (36 percent) to improve to 2-1 in league play.

The Bulldogs set the tone early, nabbing several steals during an 18-0 first-quarter run that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 20-3 lead.

“Our defense was really good tonight,” said Bryce Weidman, one of six North Bend players with at least two steals on the night.

All five North Bend starters scored during the 18-point run. Trae Collins had a pair of hoops inside on passes from teammates and also hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Sean Jany and Sam Lynass scored transition baskets and Weidman also scored inside. Jake Lucero had a basket on a drive to the hoop and nailed a 3-pointer.

The Bulldogs shot 12-for-16 in the opening quarter and led 27-7 after eight minutes. Coach Olson then used a liberal substitution pattern for the next two quarters before sitting the starters virtually all of the final quarter.

By the end of the game, all 14 North Bend players in uniform had hit the court and nine had scored.

Collins led the way with 18 points and Lucero added 14. Freshman Aaron Mateski contributed eight points and Jany had seven.

Weidman finished with four steals and four assists, while Jany had three steals, three assists and five rebounds. Collins also had four steals and Skyler Walton made a number of hustle plays off the bench and had three steals and three boards.

Olson was happy with how well the players ran the offense.

“I was pleased with how we got the ball inside,” he said. “Jake and Bryce did a good job getting Trae the ball.”

Weidman had six points, but earned praise from Olson for his overall play.

“He’s been the biggest unsung hero for us on both ends of the court,” Olson said.

Weidman didn’t mind taking the fourth quarter off, saying it helps North Bend’s depth to get lots of players time on the court.

Olson said the younger players kept the same defensive intensity as the starters.

“It’s a lot of fun to watch those young guys come in at the end of games,” he said.

Kaden McFarland had 13 points and Wade Aliff added 10 for the Lancers, who dropped to 0-3 in league play.

North Bend, meanwhile, quickly erased memories of Friday’s loss to top-ranked Brookings-Harbor.

“It was definitely a good way to bounce back,” Weidman said.

North Bend next plays the two teams that share second place with the Bulldogs early in the season — at Siuslaw on Friday and at home against Sutherlin next Tuesday.