SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. — Dylan Travis broke down the South Sioux City defense for the 3-pointer that lifted Omaha Gross to a 70-68 victory Friday night over the Top 10 No. 6 Cardinals.

“They tried a double-team, but I got around that,” the Gross senior said. “I kept going and hit it. I was to take my first good look, and that was it.”

South Sioux, already out of timeouts before Travis scored with 6.8 seconds left, had Mike Gesell drive and then pull up for a 12-footer at the buzzer that came up short.

The Iowa recruit, who had 24 points to Travis' 25 in a matchup of Class B's top two scorers, was trying to preserve a comeback from a 55-40 deficit after three quarters.

“It was a great high school game,” Gross coach Tim Powers said. “Both teams made some great plays down the stretch, and fortunately Dylan made a great play at the end.”

The River Cities Conference game was played before an estimated 1,000 on a Pink-Out night in South Sioux's Mini-Dome.

Class B No. 5 Gross (14-4) has lost to a pair of No. 1 teams — Beatrice in B and Boys Town in C-1 — in addition to back-to-back losses last month to Class B No. 4 Omaha Skutt.

Friday night was a signature win and a confidence builder for the Cougars. They had lost five straight games to South Sioux the previous two seasons.

“It was good to beat a good team in a close game,” Powers said.

Class B No. 2 South Sioux (12-6) led only twice in the first half and got to halftime ahead 35-33.

Gross scored 10 points in a row to open the second half, including back-to-back 3s by Zach Johnk that were part of a 16-point game for the junior.

The Cougars outscored South Sioux 22-5 in the quarter, with the Cardinals making only 2 of 16 shots and missing all eight 3s they attempted.

“We fell in love with the 3 when it wasn't going down and we started getting frustrated,” South Sioux coach Terry Comstock said.

It was the 3-ball, however, that got the Cardinals back in the game. They hit six of their first 12 tries in the final quarter — three by Colby Bausch, two by Austin Groth and one by Kaden Moore.

Gesell's steal of an inbounds pass and twisting layup, after completing a 3-point play, gave South Sioux its first lead of the second half at 61-60 with 2:44 left.

There were five lead changes and a tie after that. Gesell's two free throws with 13.6 seconds left staked the Cardinals to a 68-67 lead.

Groth added 18 points for South Sioux, which plays Class A Grand Island at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Heartland Hoops Classic in Grand Island.

Jake McGuire chipped in 12 points for Gross, with Travis grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.

Omaha Gross (14-4)...........................21 12 22 15—70
At South Sioux City (12-6)...................16 19 5 28—68

G: Dylan Travis 8-15 7-13 25, Zach Johnk 6-9 0-0 16, Zach Knicky 3-5 0-0 6, Anton Rice 0-3 0-0 0, Jake McGuire 5-8 0-2 12, Josh Missak 3-5 1-1 9, Joe Coenen 1-3 0-0 2, Tommy Hamilton 0-3 0-0 0, JJ Lebeda 0-3 0-0 0, Cody McCann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 10-18 70.

SSC: Colby Bausch 3-9 0-0 7, Mike Gesell 8-20 6-7 24, Nate Rogers 2-7 1-2 5, Austin Groth 7-15 2-2 18, Taylor Jensen 1-2 1-5 3, Sky Aldrich 1-3 0-1 2, Kaden Moore 2-6 0-0 5, Austin Fritza 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-64 10-17 68.

3-point goals: G 8-15 (Travis 2-3, Johnk 4-7, Missak 2-3, Lebeda 0-2), SSC 8-31 (Aldrich 3-9, Gesell 2-7, Groth 2-9, Aldrich 0-1, Moore 1-4, Fritza 0-1). Total fouls: G 16, SSC 17. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none. Turnovers: G 17, SSC 8. Rebounds: G 42 (Travis 13), SSC 32 (Rogers 8). Field-goal percentage: G .481, SSC .391. Free-throw percentage: G .556, SSC .588. Officials: Farlee, Test, Anderson. A: 1,000 (est.).

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