Mike Kraft/MDN Our Redeemer’s junior guard Wyatt Weekley goes up for a layup in front of Parshall’s Kalon Brien during the first half of the quarterfinal round of the ORCS Invitational Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 16.

The Our Redeemer’s boys basketball team is hoping the third time is the charm as it relates to winning the tournament that bears its name.

The Knights came up short in their first two attempts of the annual tournament, finishing fifth in the inaugural season in 2023-24 and then were runner-up to crosstown rival and defending state champion Bishop Ryan last year.

The tournament host’s quest for that elusive crown got off to a strong start, as the Knights demonstrated why they are the preseason No. 1 team in Class B with an 86-49 victory over Parshall in the quarterfinal round of the 3rd annual Our Redeemer’s Invitational Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Our Redeemer’s will host Central McLean in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19.

“We always want to defend the castle,” Our Redeemer’s junior forward Nolan Schmidt said. “That’s what we always say. We can’t take any team lightly in here. It’s our home gym, but we’re going to get every time’s best shot this season.”

The Knights’ tournament opener also served as their season opener, as they were one of the last teams across the state to play their first game. They showed little to no signs of rust, knocking down shot after shot from the opening tip and getting out in transition for high percentage shots at the rim.

Junior forward Wyatt Weekley found his scoring touch early, netting 13 points in the opening quarter and had 20 of his game-high 22 by halftime.

“I came out hot and wanted to distribute to my teammates and felt overall it was pretty good and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates helping me,” Weekley said.

It took less than four minutes for the Knights (1-0) to build a double-digit lead. Weekley and Payten Lindbo hit back-to-back 3-pointers as part of a 13-0 run, giving the Knights a 19-3 lead. The lead would never shrink under 10 and grew as large as 35 in the second half.

The second quarter was the Weekley and Schmidt show, as the duo combined for 15 of the team’s 28 points in the stanza. Schmidt went scoreless in the opening quarter before registering 18 of his 20 points over the next two frames. He opened the second half scoring 10 of the Knights’ first 12 points and capped off his scoring night with an emphatic dunk early in the final quarter.

“I felt like I really started finding the rhythm there in the second quarter,” Schmidt said. “Me and Wyatt were really getting into a two-man game and he was hitting me with some really nice passes. The stat that matters is the win tonight.”

Seven different players contributed to the scoresheet for the Knights. Collin Swenson and Jake Altringer joined Weekley and Schmidt in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Lindbo chipped in nine and Jaydin Marshall contributed eight. Swenson had four of the team’s eight 3-pointers.

“We learned a lot about some things we need to work on,” Our Redeemer’s coach Brock Teets said. “We had some kids that contributed off the bench for us tonight. We got everybody in the game, which is always good. But, yeah, build and get better.”

The only thing that slowed the Knights’ offense down was the running clock that was in effect throughout the fourth quarter, limiting the number of possessions down the stretch. The Knights scored 20-plus points in each of the first three quarters before finishing with 10 in the fourth.

Despite being the tournament host and the top team in Class B, along with all the external expectations that comes with it, Teets and the Knights aren’t concerned with any of that and are only focused on controlling what they can control.

“There’s no pressure,” Teets said. “We’re just trying to get better every day. That’s our focus right now and that’s going to be our focus until we get to our district schedule. Rankings don’t mean a thing to this team.”

The Braves (0-2) did the bulk of their scoring from distance, hitting 10 3-pointers compared to eight field goals from inside the arc. Mahki Packineau knocked down five treys to lead Parshall with 19 points. Kalon Brien scored all 12 of his points off of 3-pointers. Memphis Walking Elk had half of Parshall’s interior baskets to finish with 11 points.

“They are also an aggressive defensive team and can shoot the lights out, which they also did tonight,” Weekley said. “We could have stepped up a little more on defense tonight, but Parshall is a great team and a good test for us.”

Parshall will play Tioga in a consolation semifinal game on Friday, Dec. 19, at 4:30 p.m.