ABERDEEN — George Jensen hit four 3-pointers on Thursday, but none bigger than the last one.

The De Smet senior banked in a 3-pointer and sent the Bulldogs past Gregory, 41-38, in a Class B boys basketball first-round thriller. 

Jensen, who finished 4-of-7 from the 3-point line, nailed his game-winning 3-pointer with one second left for the win. 

“I didn’t really even believe it went in right away and then the clock ran out and all my teammates came,” Jensen said. “It was just amazing.”

Jensen, who scored 14 points, hit the decisive 3-pointer over the out-stretched arms of Daniel Mitchell, a lanky 6-foot-7 forward.  

“He’s super long and I just stepped back,” Jensen said. “I wasn’t even sure if I was going to get the shot off. … He was right in my face. It looked like it was about to hit the ceiling when I shot it, too. It was crazy.” 

After a timeout, Gregory’s inbound pass hit the big screen above the Wachs Arena floor, De Smet (21-3) retained possession of the ball and ran out the clock. 

De Smet’s Kadyn Fast finished with 14 points. 

Gregory’s Cruz Klundt scored 14 points and five rebounds. Mitchell added nine points and seven rebounds for the Gorillas, who nearly handed the Bulldogs their first Class B state tournament defeat since the 2019 state championship game. 

“It was just a crazy game,” De Smet coach Jeff Gruenhagen said. “I think Gregory came out and put some pressure on us and I don’t think we handled that very well.”

Both teams struggled from the field, including a 9-3 Gregory first-quarter lead. De Smet used a 20-9 second-quarter run and took a 23-18 lead into halftime. 

“We were down early and we kind of had to grind it out right away,” Jensen said. “That’s what we work on all the time is playing defense, getting stops and just grinding out wins.”

Trailing 27-20, Gregory used a 13-0 run to close the third quarter and took a 33-27 lead into the final period. The teams traded the lead four times in the final five minutes. Klundt’s 3-pointer pushed Gregory’s lead to 38-36 with 1:32 left. 

Kadyn Fast’s free throws evened the score at 38-38 with 1:01 left. After forcing a turnover, De Smet called a timeout with :12.7 seconds left to draw up the final play. 

Jensen received the ball after setting a screen for Tom Aughenbaugh. Jensen jab stepped Mitchell, stepped back and banked in the 3-pointer. 

“A great shot for him to pull up and go,” Gruenhagen said. “It’s not something you are not used to when you have a guy that is taller than you that jumps as high and as long of arms. It’s just tough. Mitchell is tough to get around.”

Gregory (19-5) will play Leola/Frederick Area in the consolation semifinals on Friday.

De Smet will play Castlewood in the championship semifinals on Friday.