ABERDEEN — Howard needed overtime to prevent De Smet from claiming its fourth straight Class B state championship at the Barnett Center on the Northern State University campus on Saturday nights.

The Tiger outscored the three-time defending state champions 8-3 during the extra four minutes of play for a 60-55 victory. It was the third Class B boys’ basketball title in school history for Howard and came in it’s 12th appearance in the state tournament and first since 1995.

The extra frame was almost not needed, as Luke Koepsell scored with 1.2 second remaining on the clock in regulation to give the Tigers a 52-50 advantage.

De Smet’s George Jensen, who nailed a game-winning 3-point as time expired to lift the Bulldogs victory in the opening round against Gregory, would come up with some more late-game heroics.

After taking a 3/4-court pass from teammate Britt Carlson on the inbound play, Jensen turned and connected from the left side of the lane as time expired to breath new life in De Smet’s hopes of winning another state title.

Neither team would lead by more than five points during the first quarter of play. A conventional 3-point play by Kolt Koepsell gave Howard an 11-6 advantage with two minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

Using a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Carlson, the Bulldogs would outscore the Tigers 5-2 to slice their deficit to 13-11 at the end of the first quarter.

A 3-pointer by Trace Van Regenmorter put De Smet back out in front to start the second quarter, but neither team would enjoy more than a 3-point advantage throughout the remainder of the opening half.

Back-to-back baskets by Tom Aughenbaugh and Grant Wilkinson gave De Smet at 20-17 lead, but a long-range jumper later in the quarter by Kolt Koepsell brought the Tigers back event at 20-20.
With two more made baskets by Kolt Koepsell, Howard would carry a 24-22 lead into the half.

After another basket by Kolt Koepsell to open the scoring in the second half, the Bulldogs would embark on a 8-0 run.

Jensen started the run for De Smet with a 3-pointer. Fast followed with a layup and Van Regenmorter scored to give the Bulldogs a 19-26 advantage with 5:39 to play in the third quarter.

Using a steal and a layup by Fast and 3-pointer by Van Regenmorter, De Smet would open its biggest lead of the contest at 33-28. The lead would quickly evaporate as 3-pointers by Logan Mentele and Colby Claussen put Howard back in from 34-33.

Another 3-pointer by Mentele and basket by Kolt Koepsell would cap an 11-0 run, which gave Howard a 39-33 lead with 1:59 to play in the third quarter.

A pair of free throws by Fast would account for the only points the rest of the way, as the Bulldogs faced a 39-35 deficit heading into the final quarter.

A 3-pointer by Claussen to open the scoring in the fourth quarter gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the game at 42-35, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough as De Smet came storming back.

Tom Aughenbaugh connected on a 3-pointer coming out of a media timeout to pull the Bulldogs even a 46-46. A reverse layup by Fast would give De Smet a 48-46 advantage with 2:48 to play.

After Howard pulled even on a shot from Luke Koepsell, Fast hit a pair of free throws to regain a 50-48 advantage for the Bulldogs at the 1:05 mark of the final quarter.

The Tigers would get a pair of free throws from Luke Koepsell on the ensuing possession to even it up at 50-50 with 52.3 seconds remaining on the clock.

A missed field goal by De Smet, provided Howard with a last-shot opportunity. Luke Koepsell capitalized with a basket for his sixth consecutive point with 1.2 seconds remaining to set up the wild finish to regulation play.

Kolt Koepsell would convert on six free throws in the overtime to account for six of the eight points for The Tigers.

The lone points for De Smet in extra frame came on a 3-pointer by Carlson.

Kolt Koepsell would finish with a game-high 24 points to lead Howard, which ended the season at 23-3. He also had a team-high 13 rebounds and two steals.

Luke Koepsell also reached double figures for the Tigers with 16 points, while Claussen and Mentele each had eight points.

De Smet, which ended the season at 22-4, was led by Fast with 18 points three assists and three steals. Van Regenmorter and Carlson each had 11 points, while Aughenbaugh and Jensen finished with seven and six points, respectively.

Named to the all-tournament team were Kolt Koepsell and Luke Koepsell of Howard and Fast and Jensen for De Smet.

Howard also won the Spirit of Six Award for Class B and Nicolas Marshall of White River was the Spirit of Su winner.

De Smet 11 22 35 52 55
Howard 13 24 39 52 60

De Smet (22-4): Tom Aughenbaugh 2 2-2 7; Trace Van Regenmorter 4 0-0 11; Kadyn Fast 6 5-6 18; Britt Carlson 3 2-2 11; George Jensen 2 1-2 6; Grant Wilkinson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 10-12 55.

Howard (23-3): Colby Claussen 3 0-0 8; Logan Mentele 3 0-0 8; Taiden Hoyer 0 2-2 2; Luke Koepsell 5 6-6 16; Kolt Koepsell 7 9-9 24; Carson Hinker 1 0-2 2. Totals: 19 17-19 60.

FG: D 18-47 38.3%; H 19-34 55.9%. 3-pt FG: D 9-19 (Van Regenmorter 3, Carlson 3, Aughenbaugh 1, Fast 1, Jensen 1); H 5-10 (Claussen 2, Mentele 2, K. Koepsell 1). Rebounds: D 16 (Carlson 5); H 29 (K. Koepsell 13). Turnovers: D 8; H 14. Assists: D 9 (Fast 3); H 9 (L. Koepsell 4). Steals: D 8 (Fast 3); H 3 (K. Koepsell 2). Fouls: D 17 (Carlson, out); H 8.