Alex Eisen/MDN Our Redeemer's junior guard William Sanders (center) tries to split Des Lacs-Burlington defenders Will Pearson (left) and Rylan Olson (right) in the first round of the District 12 Tournament.

The District 12 boys basketball regular season was hectic and unpredictable. Close games impacted a very tight final standing.

Des Lacs-Burlington got the short end of the stick.

The No. 8-seeded Lakers (7-13) provided a formidable test for the District 12 regular-season champions Our Redeemer’s (15-5) on Friday afternoon in the first round of the district tournament.

The top-seeded Knights used the second quarter to build a cushion and held on in late stages of the fourth quarter to earn a 53-45 win inside the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

A close affair was somewhat expected. ORCS only beat DLB 58-55 on Jan. 28 in Des Lacs. This showdown wasn’t the typical No. 1 versus No. 8 matchup.

“That’s the way this district tournament is going to be,” ORCS head coach Brody Bosch said. “It’s going to be stressful, and every game is going to be close. Shout out to DLB, they’re probably the best No. 8 seed to ever be in this district tournament.”

ORCS senior forward Landon Lang beat the buzzer twice in the first half. A step-back mid-range jumper ended the first quarter with the Knights up 14-11. Then, a shifty move inside put the halftime score at 33-19 in the Knights’ favor.

Lang ended with a game-high 19 points.

Zachary Hendrickson was also hitting from the outside, giving the Knights a potent inside-out attack.

“It all starts on the defensive end,” Hendrickson said. “We played defense, rebounded and got our shots.”

DLB tried to chip away in the third quarter behind the guard play of Will Pearson, Jameson Lesmann and Will Mayo. But, the Lakers only managed to outscore the Knights 12-11 in the frame.

Throughout the third quarter, DLB found itself trailing by single-digits. However, the gap was back up to 13 points going into the fourth quarter, 44-31.

“They’re a talented team, and are going to be talented for a long time,” Bosch said about DLB. “A lot of good freshmen. They played really well.”

A forceful block by ORCS junior forward Levi Weekley and a free throw made at the other end had the Knights up 47-33 with six minutes remaining.

DLB freshman Drew Clock wouldn’t let the Lakers go down quietly. He made back-to-back triples to cut the Knights’ lead to 49-43 with 2:08 remaining.

Clock finished with a team-high 17 points — the only Laker in double-digits.

“I thought we finished the game strong, and I liked our intensity,” DLB head coach Tyler Ystaas said. “Our Redeemer’s played a good defensive game and had us back on our heels. I wish we could have had some of that intensity earlier in the game.”

Hendrickson, with 16 points to his name, fouled out with 1:15 remaining. Not ideal with the Lakers enforcing an all-out, full-court press to create chaos.

“(Hendrickson) is our main ball handler,” Bosch said. “But, I guess we had a blessing in disguise this year when he had to sit out a few games due to injury. So, a couple of other guys got more experience. That showed through tonight when they had to step up.”

Hendrickson added: “That’s the worst. I’m not used to sitting on the bench at the end of the game like that. But, I knew my teammates could do it.”

The closest DLB got was six points at 51-45, despite ORCS missing a couple of free throws and a few sloppy turnovers.

Weekley and Lang each made a free throw to put the final score at 53-45.

“Our bigs did a good job of running to the rim tonight,” Bosch said. “Cam Abel had a really good spurt there when he grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds to give us more chances. We moved the ball pretty well tonight, and everybody was confident.”

Our Redeemer’s moves on to the District 12 Tournament semifinals where they will face No. 4-seeded Glenburn. Tipoff at 6 p.m. this evening inside the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

DLB heads to a loser-out contest against No. 5-seeded South Prairie. That contest will open today’s action at 3 p.m.

“We know we can beat anybody,” Ystaas said. “We can control where we go from here.”

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.