Alex Eisen/MDN Our Redeemer's senior forward Landon Lang (24) rises up for a mid-range runner in the lane against Drake-Anamoose in the Region 6 semifinals Tuesday evening inside the MSU Dome.

Rallying from improbable deficits had been the calling card all season for the Drake-Anamoose boys basketball team. It ultimately turned out to be their downfall Tuesday evening in the Region 6 Tournament semifinals.

District 12 No. 1-seeded Our Redeemer’s (19-5) built up an early cushion and fended off a typical second-half surge from Drake-Anamoose (17-7) to win 45-35 inside the Minot State Dome.

The Knights will return to the Region 6 championship game for a second consecutive season. ORCS celebrated accordingly with music blaring and shouts of excitement coming from the locker room after the game.

All of which was prompted by the coaching staff.

“They’re too serious sometimes, we have to teach them how to have fun,” ORCS head coach Brody Bosch said. “It’s not often you get to the region championship game in back-to-back years, especially in Region 6. It’s tough to do, so we wanted to show them how to have a little fun.”

In contrast to the opening-round game of the Region 6 Tournament on Monday, the Knights started strong and dictated the flow of the game from the get-go.

“That was the main focus, getting off to a hot start,” Bosch said. “Especially on the defensive end… One of our big goals all season was to have the best defense in the region.”

The Knights’ 3/4-court trap defense and 2-3 zone caused most of the problems for the Raiders. Drake-Anamoose had to exude extra energy getting the ball up the court and struggled to get into an offensive rhythm.

Missed shots certainly didn’t help either.

“We didn’t hit shots and scoring 13 points in a half isn’t very good,” Drake-Anamoose head coach Doug Martin said. “We didn’t give up that many. They only had 25 (points), so that part was good. But, we just didn’t score.”

The Knights held the Raiders to four points (on 1-for-7 shooting) in the first quarter and were up 25-13 by halftime.

Drake-Anamoose only made five field goals in the first half, while ORCS senior forward Landon Lang was leading all scorers at the break with 9 points on 4-for-9 shooting.

“Our sloppy game yesterday was definitely on our minds,” said Lang, who finished with a game-high 18 points. “But survive and advance. We knew we had to bounce back. You can’t play like that in a regional tournament and expect to win. We gave up 20 offensive rebounds yesterday. You can’t do that and expect to win.”

Knights junior forward Levi Weekley opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer. Lang followed that up with a potential three-point play but missed the ensuing free throw, 30-15.

The Raiders got the deficit down to 10 points twice at 30-20 and 32-22, but couldn’t crack single-digits just yet.

ORCS led 35-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

“They have played games just like this,” Martin said. “They come out sluggish and, usually in the second half, they go crazy and just go. We have had games when we were down 17, and they came back. But, this (ORCS) team was a little bit better. For one thing, they’re more patient and will run time off the clock when they get the ball. So, it’s harder to come back.”

That didn’t stop the Raiders from at least trying another last-ditch rally. Drake-Anamoose juniors Payton Martin and Hunter Fletschock each buried 3-pointers in the early stages of the final frame.

With the tides starting to shift in the Raiders’ favor, Lang stepped up with a bucket inside and took a charge at the other end.

Drake-Anamoose countered with Jaylee Brandt forcing a potential three-point play. One missed free throw there, and another one by Payton Martin, as he shot the back-end of bonus free throws, cut the Knights’ lead down to six, 41-35.

Clutch free throws made by Lang and Will Sanders getting to the rim for two more points sealed the Raiders’ fate into the regional third-place game.

Payton Martin and Josh Marquart led Drake-Anamoose with 9 points apeice. Martin also provided six assists. Brandt scored 6 points while grabbing 11 rebounds.

The Raiders’ late push raised their shooting percentage to 32.5%.

For ORCS, Lang (18 points, nine rebounds) and Weekley (11 points, eight rebounds) both flirted with double-doubles. Zach Henderickson was held to 7 points on 3-for-11 shooting (1-for-5 on 3-pointers).

ORCS shot 35.4% and won the rebounding battle 36-32.

“It’s hard to hold a team off, especially Drake-Anamoose because they have a lot of shooters out there,” Bosch said. “But, our guys did enough to pull it off.”

Awaiting Our Redeemer’s in the Region 6 Tournament championship game is No. 3-ranked Rugby (21-2). The Panthers powered past Nedrose 66-32 in the first semifinal played Tuesday evening in Minot. The two teams have not met this season.

“We have to play our best basketball, obviously,” Bosch said. “You almost have to play a perfect game. But, anything can happen at the region tournament, and that’s why you play the games.”

The Region 6 title game is set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday inside the MSU Dome. Before that, Drake-Anamoose will challenge Nedrose for third place at 6 p.m.

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