A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION, Recognizing the Howard Tigers as the 2024 Class B boys basketball state champions.

WHEREAS, the 2023-2024 season marked sixty years since the Howard Tigers basketball team last won a state title, but despite that, their head coach, Nick Koepsell believed the team had the talent and dedication to make a deep run; and

WHEREAS, the Howard Tigers qualified for the state tournament as the fifth seed with a 20-3 record and defeated the fourth-seeded Wessington Springs Spartans in the first round of the state tournament by a score of 53-38; and

WHEREAS, the Howard Tigers advanced to the finals by defeating the top-seeded White River Tigers by a score of 48-42; and

WHEREAS, despite the Howard Tigers leading the defending champion De Smet Bulldogs in the championship game for most of the first four quarters, the Bulldogs scored a last-second three-pointer to send the game into overtime; and

WHEREAS, during overtime, the Howard Tigers demonstrated that they had the hearts of champions and the skills to match, overpowering the Bulldogs by a score of 60-55;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED, by the One Hundredth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that the Howard Tigers are the 2024 Class B boys basketball state champions.