Howard prevails in overtime to win first state championship in 60 years

ABERDEEN — De Smet did everything it could before coming up short in its bid to make state Class B boys basketball history on Saturday night.

Fifth-seeded Howard (23-3) avenged a regular-season loss to second-seeded De Smet (22-4) with a 60-55 overtime victory in the title game of the 2024 state tournament in the Barnett Center.

Howard, which is only 28 miles south of De Smet on S.D. Highway 25, also ended De Smet's quest to become the first Class B team in state history to win four-straight championships.

"Our guys showed a lot of grit tonight and kept battling back with the Bulldogs' never-give-up attitute. That makes coming up short even harder," De Smet head coach Jeff Gruenhagen said.

The Bulldogs seemed to be on their heels from the start and 6-foot-6 senior George Jensen and 6-8 sophomore Grant Wilkinson each picked up three fouls in the first half.

Cousins Kolt, a 6-8 senior, and Luke Koepsell, a 6-4 junior and son of head coach Nick Koepsell, scored the first 15 points for Howard. The Tigers led 13-11 after one quarter, 24-22 at haftime and 39-35 after three quarters. Howard's biggest lead (44-38) came early in the fourth quarter and didn't last.

The Bulldogs pulled even with an 8-2 spurt and the two teams traded points down the stretch in regulation. Howard appeared to be in the driver's seat when Luke Koepsell made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left, but Jensen hauled a three-quarters court in-bounds pass over the 6-8 Kolt Koepsell and canned the game-tying bucket at the buzzer. It was Jensen's 3-pointer in the final seconds that lifted De Smet to a first-round win over Gregory.

Britt Carlson's 3-pointer early in overtime gave De Smet a 55-54 lead with 1:16 left. The Bulldogs didn't score again and Kolt Koepsell went 6-for-6 in free throws, making four in the final 23 seconds, to secure Howard's upset win.

"Everybody made plays and to give us a chance to win at the end," Gruenhagen said.

Kolt Koepsell led Howard with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Luke Koepsell added 16 points and Colby Claussen and Logan Mentele eight apiece. The Tigers shot 56 percent (19 of 34) from the field, also sank 17 of 19 free throws and outebounded the Bulldogs 29-16.

Seniors Kadyn Fast (18 points), Trace Van Regenmorter and Britt Carlson (11 points apiece) and Tom Aughenbaugh (seven) paced De Smet, which graduates seven seniors including Jensen. The Bulldogs shot only 38 percent (18 of 47) from the field.

"This was still a great season for this group," Gruenhagen said. "Not many people thought we could back to the title game."

Saturday's Other Games

Third-seeded Castlewood (22-4) outscored top-seeded White River (22-4) 18-7 in the second quarter and rolled to the win in the third-place game.

Bryon Laue, a 6-foot-9 junior, led the Warriors with 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Jamison Keszler added 18 points and seven assists, Lane Tvedt 17 points and Luke Baumberger nine. Castlewood shot 54 percent (29 of 55) from the field and dominanted the boards 43-21.

"We are happy to end it this way tonight. We wanted to have fun and represent Castlewood well and we did that," Castlewood head coach Paul Raasch said.

"It's not the trophy we came for, but beating a good team like White River for third place helps soothe that heartache a little. Our kids showed good resolve and toughness tonight."

Nicolas Marshall scored 31 points and Jordan Uhlir 12 for White River.

Fourth-seeded Wessington Springs (24-2) topped seventh-seeded Gregory 55-51 for fifth place with 17 points from Parker Graff, 14 from Colby Flowers and 11 from Blake Larson. Noah Bearshield and Daniel Mitchell each tallied 15 for Gregory (20-6).

Brady Schroedermeier's 25 points led eighth-seeded Viborg-Hurley (19-7) past sixth-seeded Leola-Frederick Area 84-75 for seventh place. Nick Hanson added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars. Brayden Sumption produced 19 points, Noah Kippley 15, Gavin Nickelson and Milo Sumption eight for LFA (22-4).

Awards and All-Tourney

Howard's cheerleaders won the Spirit of Six Award and White River's Marshall the Spirit of Su Award. He also made the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association's all-tourney team along with teammate Uhlir, Leola-Frederick Area's Sumption, Viborg-Hurley's Hanson, Gregory's Cruz Klundt, Wessington Springs' Graff, Castlewood's Laue and Keszler, De Smet's Fast and Jensen and Howard's Koepsells.

Friday's Games

De Smet outlasted fellow Dakota Conference and Region 2 foe Castlewood 40-37 in a semifinal game on Friday.

De Smet not only avenged a regular-season loss to the Warriors, but also overcame a seven-point deficit early in the second half to win the defensive struggle.

"It does, it does (feel good to be playing for a fourth-straight championship," Gruenhagen said. "It should be fun."

Quincy Thu's 3-pointer with five second left gave Castlewood a 19-17 hafltime lead and the Warriors opened the second half with a 3-pointer by Baumberger and a field goal by Laue.

De Smet's defense held Castlewood scoreless the final 6 1/2 minutes of the third quarter and the Bulldogs reeled off 11-straight points for a 28-24 lead. The senior-laden Bulldogs built their own seven-point lead on Aughenbaugh's 3 with 3:08 left (35-28) and held on.

Aughenbaugh scored 12 points, Jensen poured in 11 and Fast tallied 10 for De Smet. Van Regenmorter added nine rebounds and Wilkinson chipped in eight while also leading De Smet's defensive effort against Laue, a 6-foot-9 junior.

Keszler scored 14 points, Baumberger recorded nine and Laue pitched in eight for Castlewood. Laue also pulled down 11 rebounds and Thu added nine.

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Howard 48, White River 42

Howard knocked off White River in Friday's first semifinal game. The Tigers fell behind 8-0 and trailed 10-5 after one quarter, 23-19 at halftime and 35-32 after three quarters before rallying for the win.

Carson Hinker tallied 11 points and Taiden Hoyer and Luke and Kolt Koepsell each added 10 for Howard, which drained seven of eight free throws in the final 29.4 seconds to secure the win. Kolt Koepsell also grabbed 15 rebounds, Luke Koepsell tallied seven and Hoyer recorded six.

Marshall (20 points and six rebounds) and Uhlir (16 and seven) paced White River.

Gregory 65, Leola-Frederick Area 64

After losing to three-time defending champion De Smet on a last-second 3-pointer in Thursday's first round, Gregory rebounded to edge LFA in a consolation semfinal Friday on Klundt's free throw with 2.1 seconds remaining.

Klundt finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Gorillas, who tied the game on Daniel Mitchell's 3-pointer with 40.1 seconds left. Mitchell also tallied 18 points.

Sumption notched 18 points, Kippley 16 and Winston Clark nine for LFA, which also got eight rebounds from Milo Sumption.

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Wessington Springs 52, Viborg-Hurley 39

A strong finish (16-6 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter) helped Wessington Springs nail down the consolation semifinal win.

The Spartans received 18 points from Graff, 16 from Larson and 11 from Ryder Michalek.

Schroedermeier (17 points) and Hanson (15 points, nine rebounds) led Viborg-Hurley.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Final two days of state Class B boys basketball tournament