Justin Martinez/MDN Bishop Ryan senior Mason Hedberg (5) launches a triple from the corner with a pair of Our Redeemer’s players defending during the Lions’ 66-47 win on Friday at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

Just when the Knights thought they knew what to expect, the Lions pulled out a couple of surprises.

The Bishop Ryan boys basketball team (12-2, 5-0 District 12) changed things up on Friday, defeating Our Redeemer’s (5-8, 2-3 District 12) at the Minot Municipal Auditorium with some standout performances from its role players and a few rare moves from its stars.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Lions walked away with a 66-47 victory.

“It was another good win tonight,” Ryan head coach Jeremy Feller said. “We’ve been talking a lot about getting our other guys going. The more we can get out of them each night, the better our chances are of winning, so it was good to see them produce.”

Our Redeemer’s kept pace in the opening quarter of the game thanks to a stellar start by Matthew and Zachary Hendrickson. The two combined for eight of the Knights’ first 11 points as their team trailed Ryan, 15-11, with one minute remaining.

“The Hendrickson brothers are very athletic,” Bishop Ryan senior Ben Bohl said. “They put a lot of work into their game and they’re very good on the court. We knew they were going to do them.”

That’s when Bohl shut it down. The senior stole a pass on the defensive end, raced down the sideline and soared through the air for an emphatic dunk – only his second jam of the season.

The surprise throwdown brought the crowd to its feet and gave momentum back to the Lions, who finished the quarter strong to take a 20-13 lead.

Just in case anyone missed the first slam, the high-flying senior struck again on the opening play of the second quarter. Bohl attacked the rim with another rim rattler that extended Ryan’s lead to 22-13 and sent Lions fans into a frenzy.

“It got me hyped,” Bohl said. “It was nice to get two dunks. This floor is bouncy, so I knew I could get up there.”

But Bohl wasn’t the only one that put on a show in the second quarter, as Ryan also got a boost from a number of its role players.

The supporting cast of Logan Merck, Rubensky Lormejuste and Jaxon Feller took advantage of a Knights defense still reeling from Bohl’s show-stopping dunks, combining for 12 points to give the Lions a commanding 39-22 lead at halftime.

“This was one of our best games as a team,” Merck said. “When we’re playing as a team is when we’re at our best. We did a good job of getting rebounds, running the court and making the extra pass.”

With the Knights’ hands already full on defense, Ryan’s Mason Hedberg piled it on in the third quarter. The senior poured in eight points, which was highlighted by a deep three from the top of the arc despite having a hand in his face.

The Hendricksons combined for another 13 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. Ryan unloaded its bench in the closing minutes and cruised to the 66-47 win.

Matthew and Zachary finished with 17 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss. For the Lions, they had four players score double digits: Bohl (17), Merck (13), Hedberg (12) and Feller (10).

With the win, Ryan extends its win streak to seven as the team looks to keep making strides down the home stretch of its regular season.

“Tonight was a step in the right direction,” Bohl said. “We’re building confidence day in and day out. We just want to keep getting better every day. That’s been our motto.”

Our Redeemer’s will face Rugby on the road today at 7:30 p.m., while Ryan will travel to play Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.

Justin Martinez covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JTheSportsDude.