• Video: Highlights from the South Sioux City-Omaha Skutt game:



• Photo Showcase: Saturday's finals

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LINCOLN — Shaky at the line, but solid elsewhere Saturday were the sophomores who may be starting South Sioux City on a three-year hold on the Class B boys basketball title.

Mike Gesell had 29 points and 10 rebounds and Austin Groth had 18 points, including the first five in overtime, as the Cardinals outlasted Omaha Skutt 60-56 Saturday at the Devaney Center.

They weren't getting their points on free throws, either. Gesell was 5 of 11, Groth 2 of 7. Until Gesell got his last attempt to drop in, for a four-point lead with 4.5 seconds left, South Sioux was shooting 35 percent as a team for the game.

“I kept thinking they're going to hit them,'' South Sioux coach Terry Comstock said.

Why not? When the top-ranked Cardinals (19-5) beat No. 4 Skutt (21-7) in the district final, they made 25 of 26 in the 69-54 win.
Groth had no explanation.

“They felt good when I shot them,’’ he said. “Those hurt, but we still managed to win the game.’’

The 6-foot-1 Groth started overtime by getting a ball to crawl across the rim, then nailing a 3 for a 56-51 lead at the 3:14 mark.

“Probably one of the biggest shots of the year,’’ said Comstock, in his fifth year as coach. “Overtime comes down to the players. It has nothing to do with us coaches.’’

Skutt coach Jon Burt said Groth’s shots were too much to overcome.

“We were playing with the lead most of the game,’’ said Burt, who coached the SkyHawks to state titles in 2006 and 2007. “That point where they got the lead, it loosened them up a little bit.’’

Charlie Wallrapp’s second-chance basket for Skutt at 2:47 was followed by a banked-in shot from 10 feet by Gesell while fouled, but he missed the free throw.

Groth then missed two more foul shots — he missed two with the Cardinals up two in regulation with 36 seconds left — with Skutt getting a 3 from Myles Jablonski on its ensuing possession to make it 58-56. It was Skutt’s only trey in nine tries.

After the Cardinals spent three timeouts while running the clock down, Groth made the first of two free throws.

Needing a 3 to tie, Skutt’s Jablonski shot from the right wing but never caught the rim. The rebound went to Alex Groth, Austin’s older brother, and Gesell eventually made the clinching free throw.

James Hajek, with 18 points and 15 rebounds, led Skutt. But the 6-9 senior had only five points after halftime.

Skutt forced overtime on Wallrapp’s jumper in the lane with 17 seconds left for a 51-51 tie.

“We fought back. Charlie made that clutch shot at the end,’’ Burt said. “You talk about Gesell’s offense, but he also held our leading scorer (Wallrapp) to very few points. He played a complete game.’’

South Sioux City (19-5).............16 10 14 11 9—60
Omaha Skutt (21-7)........................15 10 18 8 5—56
• SSC: Trey Closter 1-6 0-0 2, Jose Bonilla 2-4 0-1 4, Mike Gesell 12-24 5-11 29, Alex Groth 1-4 1-2 4, Austin Groth 7-20 2-7 18, Colby Bausch 0-0 0-0 0, Kaden Moore 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 24-60 8-21 60.
• Sk: Danny Phelps 3-7 2-3 8, Charlie Wallrapp 4-7 0-1 8, James Hajek 7-11 4-5 18, Michael Guinane 0-4 1-2 1, Jacob Smith 2-3 6-6 10, Michael Zabawa 0-0 0-0 0, Myles Jablonski 4-8 2-3 11, Corey Homan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-41 15-20 56.
• 3-point goals: SSC 4-13 (Closter 0-2, Gesell 0-1, Al. Groth 1-2, Au. Groth 2-7, Moore 1-1), Sk. 1-9 (Wallrapp 0-1, Guinane 0-3, Jablonski 1-5). Total fouls: SSC 16, Sk 21. Fouled out: Smith. Technicals: none. Turnovers: SSC 11, Sk 25. Rebounds: SSC 27 (Gesell 10), Sk 39 (Hajek 15). Field-goal percentage: SSC .400, Sk .488. Free-throw percentage: SSC .381, Sk .750. Officials: Zac Brost, Shane Godtel, Todd Zart.

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