Aberdeen Christian outlasted White River in an overtime thriller to capture a third-place finish at the Class B Boys’ State Basketball Tournament on Saturday night.

Jackson Isakson’s nine points in overtime lifted the Knights to a 70-65 win at Wachs Arena.

The overtime period came after an eventful fourth quarter that saw two ties and two lead changes in the final 48 seconds.

After Isakson made two free throws to tie the game at 56, White River’s Joe Sayler scored a basket to give the Tigers a 58-56 lead with 18 seconds left. Christian took back the lead with a clutch 3-point basket by senior Malek Wieker with four seconds left to give the Knights a 59-58 advantage, their first lead of the game.

“I live for those moments,” Wieker said. “Coach told me to go get the ball and I know he has complete trust in me. I got a screen I think going to the right, and when I let it go, I knew it was money.”

Christian coach Matt Rohrbach noted that he wanted to get Wieker an open look for a potential game-winning basket.

“I believe there was 18 seconds when we got the ball, and Malek is running on my side, and I said ‘No, go get the basketball,’” Rohrbach said. “I looked at him and he ran and got it, and there was eight seconds when he was trying to use a ball screen. I remember thinking if I call timeout here, he’s not going to get the ball back.”

Rohrbach was confident that Wieker had the experience to make the clutch shot.

“He’s been in this moment so many times and he’s hit so many big shots for this ball club,” Rohrbach said. “I wanted to kind of ride or die with Malek Wieker, and I’m so happy I did.”

Riding with Wieker paid off, but White River was not done. After multiple timeouts were called, Sayler was determined to have one last shot to put his team over the top.

White River coach Eldon Marshall knew his team had one last shot to win the game.

“I thought Joe could get to the rim, and he did, and he drew a foul,” Marshall said. “We tied it (and) gave ourselves a chance in overtime.”

Sayler drew a foul with half a second left and made one of two free throws to tie the game at 59, sending the game into overtime.

After trailing by two early in the overtime period, Christian tied the game at 61 on a Joey Johnson basket. However, Wieker fouled out of the game early in overtime. That’s when Isakson took over, scoring the final nine points for the Knights, as Christian held off a White River rally to earn the win.

Isakson knew that focus was needed to win the game for his teammates.

“Malek Wieker had just fouled out, and he was the one that hit that step-back three, and it was going through my mind like we’ve been playing together since like kindergarten,” Isakson said. “So, I was just thinking of him and he’s not in anymore, so I just really wanted to win the game for him in our last game together.”

White River had led for much of the game, including by as many as 10 points in the first half. The Tigers led by eight after one quarter, and carried a 31-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. Other than being tied at 45 late in the third quarter, White River led the entire game until the final 48 seconds of regulation. However, the Knights never gave up and prevailed in the end.

Aberdeen Christian (23-3) was led by Ethan Russell with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Isakson had 19 points and six rebounds. Wieker finished with 17 points and three steals, and Andrew Brennan had six points.

Sayler led White River (20-6) with a game-high 39 points and six rebounds, while Nic Marshall added 17 points, five assists, and three steals.

Coach Marshall talked about the seniors on this year’s squad.

“They’ll be missed,” Marshall said. “It’s been a great experience coaching those guys and this team. Just really proud of them.”

For Rohrbach, it was a great feeling to send six seniors out with a victory.

“Going out with a win was first and foremost. You definitely want to go out with a win in the last time wearing this jersey,” Rohrbach said. “I’m so proud of them because, and I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, we were devastated last night. We didn’t get the result that we wanted. Both teams came in, put that away, and said we’re gonna give it our all for our last game.”

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (23-3): Andrew Brennan 2 0-0 6, Jackson Isakson 5 8-10 19, Ethan Russell 8 5-6 22, Malek Wieker 6 1-2 17, Kaden Clark 1 0-0 2, Ellis Russell 1 0-0 2, Joey Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 14-18 70.

WHITE RIVER (20-6): Nic Marshall 7 3-6 17, Joe Sayler 14 8-12 39, T.J. Beardt 2 1-1 5, Gavin Folkers 1 0-0 3, Logan Wright 0 1-2 1. Totals 24 13-21 65.

Aberdeen Christian 11 25 45 59 70

White River 19 31 47 59 65

3-point field goals – Aberdeen Christian 8-20 (Brennan 2, Isakson, Russell, Wieker 4); White River 4-15 (Sayler 3, Folkers). Fouled out – Wieker. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 17; White River 17. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 29 (Ethan Russell 12); White River 26 (Sayler 6). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 14; White River 14. Assists – Aberdeen Christian 11 (Clark 5); White River 7 (Marshall 5). Blocks – Aberdeen Christian 2 (Ethan Russell, Clark); White River 2 (Marshall, Beardt). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 6 (Wieker 3); White River 6 (Marshall 3).