Our Redeemer’s senior forward Payten Lindbo goes up for a shot against Ray’s Cooper Hayes as Our Redeemer’s coach Brock Teets looks on from the sideline during the Class B state semifinals on Friday, March 20, at the MSU Dome. Mike Kraft/MDN

The Our Redeemer’s boys basketball team was denied one piece of hardware at the hands of Ray last week in the Region 3 championship game.

The Knights weren’t about to let the Jays get in the way of their quest to capture an even bigger trophy when the two region foes matched up in the Class B state tournament semifinals on Friday, March 20, at the MSU Dome.

Ray may have the Region 3 trophy in its trophy case, but Our Redeemer’s has a chance to capture the program’s – and school’s – first state title after convincingly dispatching the Jays, 79-51, to advance to the championship game against Central McLean. The Knights scored the first 12 points of the game and never trailed, leading by as many as 33 for its second appearance in the title game.

“It was in the past, but we don’t forget that,” Our Redeemer’s junior Wyatt Weekley said. “The region championship, we wanted that so bad. We wanted this game even more. Ray was a great team and they gave us a challenge and it was a really good game.”

Weekley set the tone early, knocking down three 3-pointers in the opening quarter. Against Bishop Ryan in the quarterfinals, the Knights hit just one 3-pointer, which came in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. It was a much different story on Friday, as Our Redeemer’s buried four 3-pointers in the first quarter alone and had 11 for the game. The Knights shot 55 percent from distance, beating the Jays at their own game.

The Knights (26-2) scored 17 of the game’s first 20 points, with Collin Swenson punctuating the 17-3 run with one of his four 3-pointers on the game.

“That was a great start,” Our Redeemer’s coach Brock Teets said. “We had a great start against them last time. But it just continued this time. These kids just focused on our game plan so well. I thought they executed our game plan so well. Sometimes with high school kids, you don’t know what you’re going to get. Are they listening or really paying attention and this group is special. They just want it so bad and these guys have a lot of heart and there is a lot of love in our locker room. This is a great team.”

Ray (25-2) went the first 3:30 without a point, before Cooper Hayes ended the drought with a 3-pointer. The Jays entered the state tournament with the top offense in the state, averaging 78.9 points per game. They put up 85 points in their quarterfinal victory against North Star, the 13th time they have eclipsed the 80-point threshold this season.

Our Redeemer’s has been one of the few teams that has managed to slow down the Jays. Despite losing their matchup in the region championship, the Knights held Ray to a then-season-low 57 points. They topped that defensive effort the second time around.

“We were trying to limit their penetration and limit (Blake) Bergstrom’s 3-point shooting,” Swenson said. “He’s a really good shooter. We have a lot of respect for him. He plays with a lot of passion on the floor and is a really good player.”

Bergstrom proved hard to stop, scoring a team-high 21 points, going 5-for-12 from 3. But the Knights held the Jays to 37.5 percent shooting for the game. Ray didn’t score more than 16 points in a single quarter. Ray did most of its damage when operating in transition, outscoring the Knights 14-4 in those instances.

The Knights held a sizable advantage throughout the game, but Teets wasn’t going to be comfortable until the final horn sounded.

“Ray is the best offensive team in the state and the numbers show it,” Teets said. “They’re incredible. Bergstrom’s unbelievable. (Ty) Barman’s unbelievable. I can go down the roster. They can put up points in a hurry. We just had to finish some things and run some clock. The game is never over with Ray.”

After the first quarter, the Jays never got closer than nine points of the lead, but even that was short-lived. A basket from Barman brought the Jays to within 29-20 in the second quarter, but the Knights countered with a 17-1 run to build a 46-21 lead. Swenson and Weekley each hit a pair of 3s and Nolan Schmidt added a bucket during the run.

“I had confidence,” Swenson said. “I know that if I’m capable of shooting really well that I’m one of the better shooters in the state and I just know that when we get good-rhythm shots and not forcing any early shots or playing one-on-one, we’re good.”

The Knights led 53-26 at the break. They scored 54 points total in the Region 3 championship.

Our Redeemer’s slowed down the tempo of the game in the second half to limit Ray’s possessions, but still continued to get contributions from both its starters and its bench, even if it wasn’t in the points category. Weekley led all scorers with 28 points and Schmidt added 23. Swenson (12) and Jayden Marshall (10) also finished in double figures. Weekley and Schmidt each pulled down nine rebounds. Payton Lindbo grabbed seven rebounds and registered three assists and one steal to go along with four points.

“Payten Lindbo was great today,” Teets said. “It doesn’t matter about points. It’s what you can contribute elsewhere. He was phenomenal and played with great energy today. Jake Altringer was great off the bench. Gus Engelhard coming off the bench was great. We didn’t get as deep into our bench tonight just with some match up things and some speed things, but everybody off the bench played great. Jayden Marshall has been phenomenal. He’s an unsung hero on our team. All season long, we’ve gotten contributions from everybody.”

The Knights held a 41-26 edge in rebounds and a 14-6 advantage in offensive rebounds, leading to 15 second-chance points.

Our Redeemer’s advanced to the title game by avenging one of its two losses on the season and has the opportunity to avenge the other when they square off with the undefeated and top-seeded Cougars for the Class B title on Saturday, March 21, at the MSU Dome, at 8:15 p.m. Central McLean knocked off Our Redeemer’s in the Our Redeemer’s Invitational Tournament way back in December. Central McLean won that game by the same score that Ray did in the region championship.

“This is what we’ve worked for all of our lives,” Swenson said. “We just do it to glorify God and it will be fun to play with my best friends and show our friendship to the world.”

On the line is the first state title for both programs. The Knights are making their second trip to the title game, making it in their first appearance in 2016. Our Redeemer’s fell to Four Winds-Minnewaukan that year. Central McLean is participating in its first state tournament as a co-op.

“The job’s not finished,” Weekley said. “This means a lot to us and our guys. We want it so bad. The school hasn’t won a state title, so we’re going to go in thinking we’re going to dominate and win this game.”