Mike Kraft/MDN Central McLean’s Jase Utley throws a pass in between Ray defenders Brody Ceynar (24) and Blake Bergstrom during the second half of the Our Redeemer’s Invitational Tournament championship game on Saturday, Dec. 20.

It might have just been an early in-season tournament, but it had all the emotions and excitement of a state tournament matchup.

In a battle of two of the top three ranked teams in Class B, No. 3 Central McLean found its scoring touch in the second half, hitting eight 3-pointers over the final 16 minutes to knock off top-ranked Our Redeemer’s, 57-54, in the ORCS Invitational Tournament semifinals on Friday, Dec. 19.

Central McLean’s Bridger Rittenbach tallied all 12 of his points in the second half, all coming from behind the 3-point line. Rittenbach’s biggest shot came with just 20 seconds remaining with the shot clock winding down. The senior guard’s final basket of the game gave the Cougars a two-possession advantage at 55-51.

“That felt great,” Rittenbach said. “I’m speechless for how great that was. We switched our offense up a little bit and tried to get the ball inside and out and that really helped.”

Wyatt Weekley countered with a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left on the clock to pull Our Redeemer’s to within a point. It took eight seconds of game clock for the Knights to rack up enough team fouls to get Central McLean in the bonus and send them to the free-throw line. Rittenbach casually knocked down both attempts and the Cougars stole the ensuing inbounds pass to punch their ticket to the championship match, where they will play No. 4 Ray on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 6 p.m.

The Cougars (3-0) entered Friday’s contest having scored at least 88 points in each of their first two games of the season, but had just 22 at halftime. Central McLean missed all but two of its 3-pointers in the opening half, with the second trey not coming until the final minute.

Central McLean switched up its offense coming out of the locker room, electing to go to a 4-out 1-in motion offense in an attempt to get more open looks from the perimeter. It worked, as both Rittenbach and Jase Utley hit multiple shots from distance.

“Bridger can shoot the ball,” Central McLean coach Joi Anderson said. “He’s either on or off a lot of times. If he gets going, he can light it up. There’s four guys that can shoot pretty well out there.”

The Cougars’ 3-point shooting allowed them to rally from a 31-22 and 35-27 deficits in the third quarter. Central McLean closed the third quarter on a 12-0 run to grab a 39-37 lead – its first since hitting the first basket of the game. Rittenbach and Ethan Hanson hit back-to-back 3s and Aiden Hanson converted a traditional 3-point play as time expired to take the lead.

“We just had to change up our offense,” Anderson said. “We didn’t have much of an offense. We were just standing still and letting them put a lot of pressure on us. That’s why I went to a 4-out 1-in. I knew they would double team Aiden underneath and that would leave one of my shooters open.”

The Cougars scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to build a 44-37 lead – their largest of the game – with 6:46 remaining. However, the Knights rallied on their home floor, eventually tying the game following a fastbreak layup by Jake Altringer with 2:40 left.

The teams traded 3s before Aiden Hanson knocked down 1 of 2 free throws with 1:12 remaining that would give the Cougars the lead for good at 52-51.

“They’re a really good team,” Our Redeemer’s coach Brock Teets said. “I tip my cap to them. They did some really good things. That Aiden Hanson kid is amazing and they just play off him. You have to hand it to them. They made a lot of shots and they are a really good team and we were sloppy all night. We looked tired. Against a good team, that’s not going to get it done.”

Aiden Hanson had an eventful night that included 16 points, several offensive rebounds and assists, but also medical attention. The 6-foot-4 senior suffered a gash over his left eye midway through the first quarter after tumbling to the ground that forced him to the bench to address the wound. With Hanson on the sideline, the Cougars went the remainder of the quarter without a point and the Knights capitalized with a 9-0 run to take a 15-10 lead. Nolan Schmidt had 11 of his 15 points in the opening frame.

Aiden Hanson returned to the court to start the second quarter, scoring his remaining 11 points with a bandage above his left eye.

Weekley finished with 16 points – 13 coming in the second half.

Despite the loss, Teets recognizes that it’s still early in the season and they will get better as the year continues.

“It’s December,” Teets said. “I’ve been with these kids for 19 days and we’re going to get better. This is a brand-new team. I have a lot of kids playing brand-new positions. It’s going to take time and I knew that and tonight it showed a little bit. We had some really bad turnovers and we got killed on the boards in the first half. Against a good team, you learn a lot and I learned a lot tonight and we’ll get better.

The Knights (1-1) play Trinity Christian in the third-place game on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 4:30 p.m.