Central McLean’s Jase Utley drives to the basket against Medina-Pingree-Buchanan’s Chase Ova during the Class B state tournament semifinal on Friday, March 20, at the MSU Dome. Mike Kraft/MDN

Both the Central McLean boys basketball team and the PA system inside the MSU Dome experienced a bit of technical difficulties in the early stages of the second semifinal of the day on Friday, March 20.

Electrical issues with the PA system during the player introductions caused a roughly 10-minute delay to start the semifinal contest between No. 1 seed Central McLean and No. 5 seed Medina-Pingree-Buchanan. When the game eventually tipped off, the Cougars went through their own version of technical difficulties as it related to their offense.

But after a 10-minute delay of its own, Central McLean rediscovered its offense, shaking off a slow start to advance to its first state title game appearance as a co-op with a 51-44 victory over M-P-B. Aiden Hanson registered a triple-double, scoring a game-high 22 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and swiping 10 steals for the Cougars.

“It’s an honor,” Central McLean coach Joi Anderson said of reaching the championship game. “I always say that even when we go to play in play-in games to get here, those play-in games are like the state tournament. It just gets tough. When you play three games in three days it’s tough on your guys and hopefully I can go to my bench a little earlier tomorrow and give some of our guys some breaks.”

The Cougars (27-0) shot just 25 percent from the field in the opening quarter, connecting on just three of their attempts as they found themselves trailing 11-6. The Thunder led for nearly 10 of the 16 minutes in the first half. Gage Hofmann led M-P-B with eight points at the half and finished with a team-high 19.

Hanson helped guide his team out of the early slump, as the Cougars outscored the Thunder 19-9 in the second quarter to take a 25-20 lead at the half. Hanson nearly had his triple-double at that point, recording 10 points, seven rebounds and seven steals. The Cougars turned over the Thunder 10 times in the first half, leading to 16 points. They also had 15 points on the fast break. M-P-B had zero points in both categories in the first 16 minutes.

“We just kept working hard and trying to get some open looks,” Hanson said. “We worked hard the whole time and worked hard on the boards and on defense. The defense really helped us today.”

Bridger Rittenbach was the lone Central McLean player with the shooter’s touch from behind the 3-point line. Rittenbach went 4-for-8 from distance, while the rest of the Cougars were 0-for-6.

“I struggled right away,” Rittenbach said. “My first couple of shots were ugly, but I actually shot not that bad of a percentage. Once I’m able to hit shots, it opens up opportunities for the team and that helps.”

Rittenbach finished with 14 points.

The Cougars forced another eight turnovers in the second half, leading to six more points to finish with a 22-8 edge in that category. They outscored the Thunder by 17 on the fast break and by 14 in points in the paint.

M-P-B had a slight edge on the bounds, outrebounding Central McLean 32-28. Drew Hofmann pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. The Thunder (22-5) grabbed eight offensive rebounds for 11 second-chance points.

“They gave us a little trouble on the rebounds,” Anderson said. “It seemed like we’re having a hard time getting a defensive rebound in our control. We were basically given up 10 points because the ball is being bobbled down there and they’re getting it and shooting it.”

The Cougars extended their lead to 40-31 at the end of the third quarter before holding on down the stretch to secure their spot in the state title game and keep their perfect season alive.

“They play a good defensive game,” Anderson said of M-P-B. “They are physical and that’s what you have to do to make it to this tournament. We struggled shooting the ball, so therefore we struggled. We played a good defensive game. They outrebounded us, but once we figured some of that stuff out, we just slowly started building a lead.”

Even after the slow start, Central McLean ended with a higher shooting percentage than the Thunder. The Cougars shot 41.5 percent for the game, while M-P-B shot 38.6 percent.

Next up for the Cougars is a rematch against Our Redeemer’s for the Class B state title on Saturday, March 21, at 8:15 p.m. at the MSU Dome. Central McLean defeated the Knights at the Our Redeemer’s Invitational Tournament in December. Both teams are looking to capture their first state title.

“We’ve been excited about this and dreaming about this moment for a while now,” Rittenbach said.