GLADSTONE — In most rebounding situations, the defense should have an inside position to secure the rebound. But not all.

Westwood junior Ethan Marta took advantage of one such outlier when he grabbed an air ball shot hurriedly by teammate Tristan Miller as the clock wound down and laid in the rebound to send the Patriots to a wild 55-53 victory over the Iron Mountain Mountaineers in a MHSAA Division 3 Regional 17 semifinal held at Gladstone High School.

Marta’s bucket concluded a roller-coaster game in which the Patriots (20-5) built a 33-22 lead by halftime before the Mountaineers stormed back behind senior star Oskar Kangas to take a 45-41 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

From there, Westwood forced seven Mountaineer turnovers in the final period and escaped with the win.

With their victory, the Patriots, ranked fourth in the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Division 1-3 poll, advanced to the regional final where they will face Maple City Glen Lake (23-1) in a game scheduled for today at Sault Ste. Marie High School.

With their loss, the UPSSA third-ranked Mountaineers closed their terrific season with a 21-4 record.

Additionally, the defeat saw the end of the prep career of Kangas, who finished his basketball days at Iron Mountain with a sensational 37-point performance.

The two-time all-U.P. dream teamer and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh-bound Kangas led the furious third-quarter fight-back with a stretch of play for the history books.

The 6-foot-6 Kangas ran off 18 of his team’s 23 points during a run which saw Iron Mountain turn its 11-point halftime deficit into a four-point edge heading down the stretch.

Not only did Kangas score, seemingly at will, but he blocked two shots and recorded two steals in a two-minute span toward the end of the third quarter to give the Mountaineers their first lead since early in the game.

Gerald Sampoll Torres added a driving bucket to increase his team’s advantage to four before Marta pulled Westwood within two with a jumper.

Kangas then sank a short bank shot just before the horn to restore IM’s four-point advantage after 24 minutes of basketball.

Sophomore Brayden Kassin buried two free throws to give the Mountaineers a 47-41 lead with just under six minutes to play.

Westwood junior Caden Balzarini knocked down a triple shortly after as the Patriots crept back within three.

At that point, the teams struggled against each other’s pressure defense for the next two minutes.

Kangas ended the dry stretch with a free throw before Kassin sank two to give the Mountaineers a 50-46 edge with 3:11 left.

Balzarini hit a driving layup and a 3-pointer to bring Westwood even at 51-51 with under two minutes remaining. Kangas scored what turned out to be his last bucket with 1:17 left, but Marta equaled that with a hoop 30 seconds later.

The Mountaineers ran the clock to 31.7 seconds before calling a timeout. Setting up for the last shot, Iron Mountain instead turned the ball over with 16 ticks left.

Westwood worked the clock until Miller fired his attempt to win the game before Marta sent the Patriots and their fans into hysterics while the Mountaineers stood stunned.

In the end, Kangas’ 37 points represented 70 percent of his team’s offense. Kassin finished with 8, Sampoll-Torres wound up with five and Ethan Copley ended with three.

Marta led the Patriots with 26 points, followed by Balzarini with 14, Reid Frustaglio with eight and Miller with seven.

Joining Kangas, seniors Ian Marttila, Aiden Ellis, Sampoll-Torres and Copley played their final games for the Mountaineers.