The longtime former leader of the Our Redeemer’s program announced his retirement in the summer, although it was very short lived. When an opportunity arose to coach Bishop Ryan in the fall, Feller didn’t hesitate.

A few months later, the Lions are headed to the Class B state tournament after a 56-45 victory over Rugby in the Region 6 tournament championship game at the Minot Auditorium. Ryan won’t find out who it plays in next week’s state tournament until later tonight.

With the victory, Feller has now led both the Knights and the Lions to state berths. This is the second straight year Ryan has made the state tournament.

“It’s a great feeling,” Feller said. “It wasn’t much more than a year ago that I didn’t think I’d get a chance to coach again. Well, here we are. The “B” is a pretty special place to play at. I hope we can go down to Bismarck and be the focus of that tournament.”

Al Christianson/Special to the MDN Ryan's Caden Shean (1) puts up a shot Friday.

Ryan, which also won the District 12 Tournament, had to take down Towner-Granville-Upham, Feller’s former team in Our Redeemer’s and the District 11 champions in Rugby to escape with the Region title.

“(Thursday) was probably one of the toughest days of my coaching career,” Feller said. “There were 30 solid players on both teams that I’ve had the pleasure to coach. Two years ago when I was at ORCS and we finished runner-up, I told those seniors our goal was to get there.

“So, that was an emotional day to watch them play before and now have the same chance to do that with this team. It’s been a long week, and I’m looking forward to getting some sleep.”

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm offensively in the first half, fighting to a 11-11 tie after one quarter then the Panthers took a 18-17 lead into halftime. Rugby shot 31 percent in the first half and Ryan shot 25 percent.

The Lions outscored the Panthers 19-16 to take a two-point lead entering the fourth quarter. But junior guard Mason Hedberg sparked a 12-0 run for the Lions with two 3-pointers, a steal and a layup in transition. Hedberg had a rough first quarter, missing all three of his shots and committing several turnovers, but rebounded when it counted.

“I knew I just had to stick with my shot,” Hedberg said. “I knew it would come eventually. Going to state never gets old. That’s really what you work for all season.”

After the run, Rugby found itself starting at a 12-point deficit and never recovered.

“I think we played about 30 minutes of good basketball, and then there were 2 minutes in there where they hit two threes on us and two transition buckets,” Rugby coach Mike Santjer said. “We lost our mind a little bit after that and we stopped attacking. Kudos to those guys, they’re a great team and I wish them well.”

Hedberg led Ryan with 19 points, while Ben Bohl chipped in with 16 points and nine rebounds. The Lions shot 37 percent from the floor, 5-of-18 from beyond the arc and made 15 of 24 free throws.

“It’s a great feeling. I’m just so proud of our team for coming through,” Bohl said. “Mason is always just locked in. He’s a great shooter and can do everything on the floor.”

Jaden Hamilton scored a team-high 14 points for Rugby, while Landen Foster recorded 10 points. The Panthers shot 36 percent from the floor, 3-of-13 from beyond the arc and outrebounded Ryan 30-28.

Garrick Hodge covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @Garrick_Hodge