Red Lake falls short in upset bid; Maranatha wins 59-55 at Class A state tourney

MINNEAPOLIS - The defense was there, but the offense failed Red Lake in its upset bid Thursday afternoon at Williams Arena.

No. 2 seed Maranatha Christian Academy clawed back from a double-digit halftime deficit for a 59-55 win in a Class A quarterfinal matchup.

With the game tied at 55-55 with less than 30 seconds left, Rob Mclain grabbed a missed foul shot by Jake Meyen under the net, but passed the ball straight to Maranatha's Jeremiah Hanson as he fell out of bounds. Hanson's layup gave the Mustangs the lead, and when a Russell Kingbird attempt failed at the other end, Meyen iced the game with two more free throws.

Red Lake coach Roger White said he had a hard time addressing his players after the heartbreak.

"I was speechless because of the effort," he said. "It's one thing to lose when you don't put out effort and the other team comes to play. But today, both teams came hard and we gave it our all. We just came up short."

Seniors Russell Kingbird and Mason Kingbird provided the firepower in an early 16-2 run that put Red Lake up early in the first half. Russell knocked down three treys en route to 15 points in opening half, while Mason added six points.

But it was the improved defense - especially from the sophomore Mclain - that helped the Warriors put a 12-point gap between them and MCA in the first half.

"He's been getting better every game this year," White said of Mclain. "His maturity is better than last year, and he has tenacity, getting after the ball on rebounds. That's what I've stressed with him this year, to get after the ball on defense, grab rebounds."

Get after the ball he did, as Mclain finished with 14 rebounds, seven blocks and six steals to go with his eight points.

But the Maranatha starting five kept hitting shots in the second half while Red Lake shot a combined 25 percent from the field after halftime. Maranatha got all of its points from its starters, with Meyen (21 points) and Hanson (18 points) leading the way.

"We weren't being as patient," White said. "We were rushing a little and not setting up our screens, and their defense jumped us. Our shots just weren't falling in the second half.

"Just a few mistakes cost us late in the game. Maranatha played some good basketball in the second half and came back strong."

Maranatha Christian Academy (29-2) will advance to play Battle Lake (30-1) in the Class A semifinals today. The Eagles handed Battle Lake its only loss on the season on Dec. 29.

Red Lake finishes the season with a 23-6 record.

Maranatha Christian Academy 59, Red Lake 55

MCA: Armstrong 13, Burquest 7, Meyen 21, Hanson 18.

RL: Mclain 8, Jourdain 2, Spears 5, R. Kingbird 18, M. Kingbird 11, Needham 2, Martin 9.

Half: RL 36, MCA 24.

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