It was a contrast of styles, but Howard’s size proved to be the difference Friday night.

Howard outscored top-seeded White River 16-7 in the final quarter to fuel a 48-42 victory in an all-Tigers showdown in the semifinals of the Class B Boys’ State Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena.

Howard will face three-time defending champion De Smet in the State B championship game tonight at 7:45.

“Best feeling in the world right now,” Howard coach Nick Koepsell said after the win. “We’re playing for a state championship (Saturday), and what more could you ask for?”

It was a game that featured Howard’s ball control half-court game against White River’s up-tempo pace. Howard’s style dictated much of the game and slowed down White River.

“We were trying to rebound and run like we always do,” said White River senior Nic Marshall of his team’s game plan. “We like to play fast and we got out on that and it didn’t really work out in the end, because we all got in foul trouble, so some of us had to sit down. It just kind of slowed our game down and that’s not really us.”

Early on, however, White River set the pace, opening the game on an 8-0 run, forcing Howard to step up on defense.

“We got down to an 8-0 start and then we had that first media timeout,” said Howard junior Luke Koepsell. “We just looked at each other and said this isn’t how its’s going to happen, so we dug down defensively and held them to (42) points, so that’s good for us.”

After the timeout, Howard settled in and began going to its strength – working the ball into the paint to 6-foot-4 Luke Koepsell and 6-foot-8 senior Kolt Koepsell. Howard’s size eventually got White River into foul trouble, forcing Marshall and others to the bench for extended periods of time.

“It was really hard,” Marshall said of his team’s efforts to guard the bigger Howard players. “We had Logan (Wright) and Jordan (Uhlir) on them, and they got in foul trouble, so we had to go zone in the first half. That wasn’t really working, they kind of ate that up, so then we went back to man, and we got in more foul trouble, and they just kept going at us hard.”

In the meantime, Howard had to figure out how to slow down Marshall.

“We knew Marshall was a heckuva player and had to try to keep him out of the lane, but he’s so good,” Luke Koepsell said.

Often Koepsell was tasked with trying to guard Marshall to keep him from driving inside for high-percentage baskets.

“It’s crazy. He’s fast,” Koepsell said. “He just doesn’t stop attacking, getting us into foul trouble, but just got to slide my feet, keep my hands out, and do my best to contain him.”

After trailing 10-5 at the end of the first quarter, Howard fought back to take a 17-14 lead, only to see White River retake the lead before halftime, 23-19.

White River stayed on top throughout the third quarter, extending its lead to as many as seven before Howard made a late surge to cut the deficit to three heading into the final period.

Coach Koepsell said his team’s experience in big games during the regular season paid off on Friday night as his team fought back time and time again.

“We’ve got a lot of seniors and juniors and upperclassmen that play, so they don’t get rattled,” Coach Koepsell said. “We’ve been there before, we play a tough schedule, so we’ve been put in a lot of tough situations this year. Those guys, they take everything that’s thrown at them and respond the way I know they can.”

Howard completed the comeback, outscoring White River by nine points in the fourth quarter, with the final eight coming from the free-throw line. Howard finished the game 14-of-18 from the charity stripe.

Coach Koepsell was confident that his players would come through at the foul line in the final stages of the contest.

“With our veteran players I had all the confidence in the world they’d step up to the line and knock them down tonight,” Coach Koepsell said.

Marshall finished with a game-high 20 points, and six rebounds. Uhlir added 16 points and seven rebounds. White River (22-3) will play Castlewood at 6 p.m. tonight in the third-place game.

Howard (22-3) placed four players in double figures. Carson Hinker led the way with 11 points, Luke Koepsell finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Kolt Koepsell recorded 10 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Taiden Hoyer added 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Luke Koepsell said the feeling of playing in a state championship has extra meaning as he embraces the moment with his many family members on the team, including his father Nick, sister Kenedy, and cousin Kolt.

“It means a lot,” Koepsell said of having his father as the coach. “He’s coached me ever since I was a little seventh grader, so having him on the sidelines for me, it’s what every kid dreams of; playing in the state championship with your dad as your coach, cousin on the court, my sister’s an assistant coach, so it’s crazy. We’re all here, we’re all proud, but we’ve got one more game to go.”

He also reflected on what it means to be playing in the state championship game.

“It means a lot,” Koepsell said. “When I was a seventh and eighth grader, we weren’t very good, but we’re here now and we’re hungry. We’re ready to win a championship.”

HOWARD (22-3): Colby Claussen 1 2-2 5, Taiden Hoyer 3 4-7 10, Luke Koepsell 3 4-4 10, Kolt Koepsell 3 4-5 10, Carson Hinker 5 0-0 11, Austin Severson 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 14-18 48.

WHITE RIVER (22-3): Nic Marshall 5 10-14 20, Mackenzie Wike 1 1-2 3, Ray Crow 0 3-4 3, Jordan Uhlir 8 0-1 16. Totals 14 14-21 42.

Howard 5 19 32 48

White River 10 23 35 42

3-point field goals – Claussen, Hinker. Total fouls – Howard 17; White River 21. Rebounds – Howard 35 (K. Koepsell 15); White River 21 (Uhlir 7). Turnovers – Howard 14; White River 9. Assists – Howard 10 (Hoyer 4); White River 6 (Wike 3). Blocked shots – Howard 5 (K. Koepsell 4); White River 4 (Crow 2). Steals – Howard 3 (Hinker 2); White River 5 (Uhlir 2).