LINCOLN, Neb.—Mike Gesell scored 29 points, the biggest one being the game-clinching free throw with five seconds left in overtime that gave South Sioux City a 60-56 victory over Omaha Skutt in the Class B final at the boys state tournament Saturday.
The Cardinals (19-5) have qualified for state nine times, but until this year they hadn’t won a game here since 1927.
Now the South Sioux City boys’ program has one state championship, still far behind the 11 the girls’ program has won since 1995.
“They have so many and they’ve been so successful,” Gesell said. “It feels so good to get one of our own.”
Gesell also had 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals, and Austin Groth added 18 points.
James Hajek had 18 points and 15 rebounds to lead Skutt (21-7).
The Cardinals, down three points with two minutes to play in regulation, tied it after Trey Closter made a steal and passed to Gesell, who rolled in a layup and got fouled. He made the free throw for the tie, and after Skutt turned the ball over on a five-second call, Groth converted a pass from Gesell into a layup and 51-49 lead.
“We hit a couple shots, and our confidence level went sky high,” South Sioux City coach Terry Comstock said. “After that we knew it was going to be good for us.”
Groth missed two free throws that could have made it a four-point game with 37 seconds to play. Instead, Skutt’s Charles Wallrapp scored in the lane to tie it 51-all with 15.8 seconds left.
Groth’s layup and 3-pointer early in the extra period gave the Cardinals a 56-51 lead.
Gesell, who already has scholarship offers from Nebraska and Creighton, was 12 of 24 from the field and just 5 of 11 from the line.
“Ever since we were little we have been thinking about this,” Gesell said. “That’s what we’ve been working for all season. Here it is now.”
