Bishop Ryan outlasts DL-B on Stewart’s triple
Down by a point with less than 30 seconds remaining, senior Eli Stewart found a pocket of space right in front of his bench and senior Cody Feist swung him the ball.
“I better make this,” Stewart was thinking as he put up the long 3-pointer.
He did. And No. 2-seeded Bishop Ryan (19-2) escaped with a 57-55 victory in the District 12 semifinals over No. 3-seeded Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers (16-5) and heroics of their senior guard Drew Pearson, who had drained a 3-pointer on the possession before Stewart’s game-winning shot.
“I told Eli Stewart with a minute and half to go that it was Eli time,” Ryan coach Brock Teets said. “And he stepped up big with two 3-pointer for us.”
DL-B went down early after Lakers senior Tanner Johnson scored the first bucket of the game with a layup, as the Lions went on a 12-0 run lead by a stretch of seven straight points from sophomore Chinaza Udekwe.
A 3-pointer by sophomore Mason Hedberg gave Ryan a 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“They showed some good resilience for sure,” DL-B coach Doug Wagner said of his team. “We kept battling back. They did a little bit better job on the boards and have so many guys that can hit shots. They get you running around the gym quite a bit.”
DL-B’s leading scorer Pearson heated up in the second half with seven points to help the Lakers regain the lead at 23-22, 29-27 and 31-30. However, it was four points at the end of the frame by Feist, including a fast-break layup at the buzzer, that gave the Lions a 34-31 lead going into halftime.
“I thought we played DL-B’s game and they sped us up,” Teets said. “We just played too fast and for three quarters we played Des Lacs-Burlington basketball. That’s not our game. Defensively we had too many lapses. They are an offensive team and we are a defensive team in my mind.”
Udekwe gave Ryan a 38-33 lead with a bucket inside, but the Lakers fought back with their high-tempo style of play. A Ryan Hanna jumper and failed three-point play try for Mark Medalen had the score all even at 44-44 after three quarters.
Senior Rylan Bachmeier capitalized on a quick steal to give the Lakers a 50-49 lead. Ryan sophomore Ben Bohl countered with a layup and then dazzled the crowd with a behind the back dribble to prevent Pearson from making a steal and then found Stewart for his first clutch 3-pointer, 54-50 with 2:34 remaining.
Pearson got his quick hands on a steal and layup with 1:20 left to cut the Lions lead to 54-52. Then, with 34 seconds remaining, grab the lead for the DL-B (55-54) on an isolation step-in 3-pointer at the top of the arc.
“I take my hat off to DL-B, that’s a great team,” Teets said. “They got so many good scorers and so many good players. They are the most athletic team in the state, hands down.”
After a timeout, Stewart matched Pearson’s 3-pointer with his game-winner. Pearson and the Lakers had a chance answer to win the game, but Pearson left his triple short at the buzzer for a 57-55 Ryan victory.
“So close, yet so far,” Wagner said. “Just so many little plays in the game that could have made the difference.”
The Lions advance to District 12 finals on Monday at 7 p.m. against No. 1-seeded and cross-town rivals Our Redeemer’s at the Minot Auditorium. The Knights won the District 12 championship last year with a 53-50 overtime victory over the Lions.
DL-B will have to play a region qualifier game against Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood on Monday at 4 p.m. M-L-S powered past No. 8-seeded South Prairie, 58-36, in a loser-out game earlier in the day.
Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.