The Red Lake contingent chanted in unison “de-fense, de-fense, de-fense.” It’s a word not synonymous with the Warriors.

It caught Maranatha coach Jeff Wall and his Mustangs off guard. Halftime couldn’t come soon enough for the No. 3-ranked team. Wall needed to come up with a solution to solve Red Lake’s defensive intensity.

The Mustangs did just that. They limited Red Lake to seven field goals and 19 points after intermission, overcoming a 12-point halftime deficit for a 59-55 victory in the Class 1A quarterfinals on Thursday at Williams Arena. Maranatha (28-2) will face the winner of Battle Lake (29-1) and Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (22-9) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday at Target Center.

“You have to give Red Lake a lot of credit,” Wall said. “They played extremely hard, and extremely intense. They are certainly a much improved team defensively over a year ago.”

The game was a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, which Maranatha won handily, 95-67.

“I think we thought it was going to be a lot like last year,” Mustangs senior forward Jeremiah Hanson said. “We were caught off guard.”

Hanson’s steal and layup with 23 seconds left broke a 55-all deadlock. The school’s all-time leading scorer finished with 18 points and four steals.

Senior center Jake Meyen capped the comeback with two free throws with one second left. Meyen, who scored a game-high 21 points, made one of two free-throw attempts with 29 seconds left. His make tied it at 55, and his miss led to Hanson’s game-winning steal and layup.

“It was all pretty lucky,” Hanson said. “That was a big break for us.”

Red Lake (23-6) missed a shot with 14 seconds left, and Mustangs junior guard Damario Armstrong came up with a steal nine seconds later. It was his seventh steal to go along with 13 points.

“I was really proud of our defense in the second half,” Wall said. Red Lake shot 27 percent from the floor after intermission. “The kids played with a lot of heart. I was proud to see that.”

The Warriors took a 55-54 lead on sophomore guard Rob Mclain’s driving layup with 51 seconds left. The athletic and active Mclain had 8 points, 14 rebounds, 7 blocked shots, 7 steals and 6 steals before fouling out in the final second.

“He wasn’t letting us get to the basket,” Hanson said.

The Warriors built a 12-point halftime lead, 36-24, thanks to tenacious defensive. They limited Maranatha to eight field goals and forced 12 turnovers in the opening half.

Senior forward Russell Kingbird provided the offense for the Warriors, scoring 15 points. He was 3-for-5 from three-point range. Kingbird finished with 18 points.

“It’s playoff time,” Meyen said. “We had to come back. Lose, and your done.”