The Helias Crusaders had made their living at the three-point line all night, and needed another three to stay alive in triple overtime. Cody Geiger said no.
Geiger stole a pass in the backcourt, took two steps, and threw down a monster dunk with two hands to send the Tigers to the state championship game with a 67-62 win in the semifinals Friday. The Geiger slam ended a grueling night of basketball that started with Republic in control, saw Helias fight back with a barrage of three-pointers, and ended with the game’s best player making the game’s biggest play.
“I don’t even remember what I told them in the time out,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “Something along the lines of ‘Cody, you just step in there and get a steal and then dunk it.’
“That was just a great play by Cody, and way to step up and hit free throws at the end, I’m just very proud of everybody.”
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At the beginning of the game, it looked like the Tigers might run away from Helias. Republic had befuddled Helias on defense, and Geiger controlled the inside as Republic jumped to an 18-10 lead after one. But Helias fought back, outscoring Republic 13-6 in the 2nd quarter to cut the lead to 24-23 at halftime.
“We battled, we got the early lead, they made a run there in the 1st half,” says Fisher. “Then in the 2nd half, both teams were running on fumes.”
Republic led by as many as 12 points at one time, but Helias wouldn’t go away, and the Crusaders tied the game late in the 4th quarter. They had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but missed a three-pointer, then missed two putbacks before time expired.
Helias grabbed a lead in the first two overtime periods, but Republic wouldn’t die, even after trailing by four with about two minutes left in the first overtime.
“In the overtime, it just came down to getting stops on the defensive end. We had huge stops at the end of overtime, and rebounds, and these seniors just refused to lose and didn’t want their season to end today,” says Fisher.
In the 3rd overtime, Dylan Bekemeier made one free throw with just under a minute left to give the Tigers a 61-60 lead. At the other end, the Tigers got a defensive stop and Brock Yocum was fouled and hit two more free throws, making the score 63-60 with 19.5 seconds left.
Helias called timeout to set up a play, needing a three-pointer to tie. They had made 11 of 20 to that point, but they wouldn’t get a chance at another one. After the in-bound pass, Cody Geiger stole the ball away and dunked it, making the lead five. Helias quickly scored with under five seconds left, but Canyon Smith hit two free throws to seal the victory.
Geiger led the Tigers with 29 points. Chase Hoffmann, who had a monster game of his own, finished with a double-double — 10 points and 11 rebounds against a much taller Helias interior. Hoffmann also took four charges defensively, including two at crucial times when Helias could have put the game away down the stretch.
Hoffmann also played a big part in the Tigers’ defense against Helias post man Hale Hentges, who scored only six points.
“Great job not only by Chase and Dillen and Cody and all those guys, but that’s a whole team effort as far as doubling down and making it tough for him. I’m just proud of the way we just gutted it out,” says Fisher.
In addition to Geiger and Hoffmann, Dylan Bekemeier scored nine, Brock Yocum scored eight, Dillen Ramsey had six, and Canyon Smith had five. Isiah Sykes led Helias with 24.
Republic advances to the championship game Saturday at 8:10 pm at Mizzou Arena. They’ll play Lafayette, who beat Farmington 46-41.