ABERDEEN — This is what state championships are all about. 

In an instant classic, Howard prevailed over De Smet for the Class B boys basketball championship at a rocking Wachs Arena. The 60-55 overtime thriller was filled with momentum swings, buzzer beaters and multiple players making game-winning plays all night.  

“I have so much respect for a team like De Smet and what they’ve done,” Howard coach Nick Koepsell said. “We knew everything we were gonna get tonight, we were going to have to earn it and that was so true. I am not smart enough of a guy to put a word to describe that. But the feeling is just unreal. I am just so happy for the kids." 

The Bulldogs (22-4) nearly earned the four-peat, but Howard weathered a George Jensen buzzer beater at the end of regulation. After Luke Koepsell gave Howard a 52-50 lead with :1.2 seconds left, Jensen corralled a full-court pass, turned and banked in the buzzer for a 52-52 tie. 

“When I came out of the timeout with 1.2 seconds left, I kind of was looking around thinking ‘Wow we did it,’ ” said Luke Koepsell, who had 16 points. “Because I wasn’t expecting that. Then they threw that shot in and for a second there I was like ‘Oh my gosh. We are not going to lose like this.’ We got in the huddle again and we said we are not going to lose. We dug down and we figured out a way.” 

The shot sent the crowd of more than 7,000 people into a frenzy, but Nick Koepsell felt his team still believed despite the buzzer beater. 

“You don’t know how they are going to respond,” Koepsell said. “It’s a gut punch and I am not going to lie. But I looked in their eyes and they knew it was a four-minute ball game. We knew we needed stops. At that point you throw offense out the window and let kids go to work and make plays for you and they did.”

The Tigers made a few more plays in the extra four-minute period. De Smet’s Britt Carlson buried a 3-pointer for a 55-54 Bulldogs’ lead with 1:18 left. 

Howard senior Kolt Koepsell, who finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, then hit two free throws for a 56-55 advantage. The first one danced on the rim before dropping in.  

“I was reeling it in,” Koepsell described about the free throw. “I was trying to get it to go in and it went in for me. I was praying for it to go.”

After De Smet’s Kadyn Fast missed on its next possession, Howard’s Carson Hinker missed two free throws with 26 seconds left. But Kolt Koepsell, a 6-foot-8 forward, skied in for the offensive rebound and was fouled. 

“When he decides that he wants to get a ball — as big and athletic and strong as he is — he’s going to come down with it and that was about as big of a rebound as you can find,” Nick Koepsell said. 

Kolt Koepsell, who finished 9-of-9 at the free-throw line, drilled two more for a 58-55 spread with 22 seconds left. After a De Smet turnover, Kolt Koepsell was fouled again and hit two more free throws with 12 ticks remaining, pushing it to 60-55. 

The Tigers corralled a rebound on De Smet’s next possession and celebrated their first boys state basketball championship since 1964. 

“Just proud,” Kolt Koepsell said. “Just amazed that I accomplished such a big goal that I have been trying to get for four years and I finally got it.” 

Howard’s Colby Claussen and Logan Mentele added eight points apiece. 

De Smet’s Kadyn Fast finished with 18 points, while Trace Van Regenmorter and Carlson scored 11 points apiece. 

Howard and De Smet, separated by 28 miles, regularly play during the regular season. De Smet won its 10th straight game against Howard earlier this season, 56-46.

“We play De Smet every year,” Nick Koepsell said. “They knock us around. They win championships because of their defense. We’ve won a lot of games because of our defense. Tonight was no different.”

The players and coaches anticipated a similar one on Saturday.   

“It was a rock fight,” Luke Koepsell said. “It was actually more high scoring than I thought it was going to be. I thought it would be in the 40s. They’re so good. Their defense is crazy.”

The game featured nine ties and 12 lead changes. Howard was clinging to a 24-22 halftime lead and stretched it to 39-33 with an 8-0 third-quarter run. Mentele sparked the run with two 3-pointers, Claussen added a triple and Kolt Koepsell hit a field goal. 

The Bulldogs evened the score at 46-46 on a Tom Aughenbaugh 3-pointer, with 4:36 left in the game. 

Fast and Luke Koepsell traded free throws for a 50-50 tie, setting the stage for Luke Koepsell and Jensen’s big shots. With 6.7 seconds left, Luke Koepsell backed his defender into the paint and banked in a layup with 1.2 seconds to go. 

Jensen responded with his second buzzer beater of the tourney. The senior also hit a late buzzer beater in the opening round win over Gregory. 

“When they made that shot to force OT, we looked at ourselves in the huddle and said ‘That shot is not going to beat us,’ ” Luke Koepsell said. “We knew it was a four-minute game and they had some foul trouble and we knew if we dug down and we could pull it out.”

Howard outscored De Smet, 8-3, in overtime and celebrated a long-awaited state championship. The school known for football and wrestling won its third-ever boys basketball championship with the win.  

“To put a Howard banner up there with all the football and wrestling, it means a lot,” Luke Koepsell said. “It will hopefully give us some respect and we have a championship now.”