COLUMBIA, Mo. - The team that had something to prove all season long had one more thing on its to-do list.
After putting together an impressive postseason run to join the teams ranked 1-3 in the state at the Class 4 Final Four, the unranked Helias Crusaders wanted to make sure everyone knew they belonged with those squads.
And after a less-than-stellar effort in Friday night's semifinal round, the Crusaders came into Saturday's third-place game at Mizzou Arena with every intention of closing out the season with a win.
Helias did just that, knocking off second-ranked Sikeston 63-51 to match its best-ever finish at state. The Crusaders also finished third in 1993, 1994, 2009 and 2014, plus coming in fourth in 2001.
Helias coach Josh Buffington said the Crusaders did a great job of bouncing back after Friday's loss to third-ranked St. Joseph Lafayette.
"We knew after that game there were going to be people around here saying, "Well, maybe they shouldn't be here, that just proves it right there,'" he said. "Well, we knew we were getting ready to play a team that had been ranked No. 1 in the state in Sikeston ... and that took Vashon to overtime in the semis. So this was another challenge for us today, to prove to everybody that we should be here, and I think we did a great job of proving that."
The Crusaders did that from the start, scoring the game's first seven points against the second-ranked Bulldogs - a 3-pointer by Landon Harrison sandwiched by layups from Nathan Bax.
"Our guys were focused all morning in preparation for this game and in the locker room," Buffington said. "They wanted to play. Maybe in the past some teams have come in here and just gone through the motions in the third-place game. We refused to do that. That really set the tone for us."
However, it didn't surprise Buffington when Sikeston ripped off the next nine points to take its only lead of the game.
"We knew they were a team that was explosive and could go on some big-time runs," he said.
But Helias came right back with a run of its own, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to lead 18-11 after one quarter.
Sikeston coach Greg Holifield said Friday's semifinal loss to top-ranked Vashon in overtime had a bit of a hangover effect.
"Difficult game today - we didn't play with our normal energy," he said. "I think (Friday) night had a lot to do with that, but you have to give Helias credit, I think they played great."
Sikeston did get within one point a little more than two minutes into the second quarter, but that was when Sam Husting stepped up for Helias. The senior sharpshooter nailed 3-pointers for Helias' next three scores, helping the Crusaders build the lead back to seven, and the Bulldogs never got closer than six points the rest of the half.
After a tough shooting night against Lafayette, Husting said he was ready for some redemption.
"It felt pretty good in my last game to shoot it pretty well," he said. "I don't know if it was just playing free - I think (Friday) night I just didn't shoot it well.
"I knew I had to have confidence coming into (Saturday). I just let it fly and good things happened."
The Crusaders eventually took a 36-22 lead into halftime.
"(Helias) did a great job of moving the basketball," Holifield said. "They were making the extra pass, finding the open man. ... They had open looks and knocked them down."
Husting hit two more 3s in the third quarter - he ended up a red-hot 6-of-10 from beyond the arc - with the second one giving Helias its biggest lead at 45-27 midway through the period.
"He's one of the best shooters in the state and he's got a lot of confidence," Buffington said. "... I could have told you he was going to refuse to have two bad shooting nights in a row. We really needed him, he's a playmaker for us and he hit some huge shots."
The Crusaders took a 50-34 lead after three quarters and matched their biggest lead twice in the final period - once at 52-34 on a layup by Trevor Koelling and then at 63-45 on two free throws by Harrison.
Sikeston subs hit a pair of late 3s after the starters for both teams had departed to provide the final margin.
Husting and Harrison combined for 42 points, with Husting getting a game-high 22 and Harrison close behind with 20.
"It's really awesome for these guys to win our last game and for our program to beat a team like Sikeston," Husting said. "... It was a really great win for us and a good program-builder for the future."
Nathan Bax joined Husting and Harrison in double figures with 11 points, while Koelling had seven. Adam Bax led all players with nine rebounds.
Fred Thatch was the only player to reach double figures for Sikeston (28-3), as he had 10 points. Dominique Dyes and Marquan Nelson chipped in with eight apiece. Kevin Jones, a freshman whose 3-pointer with :38 left in regulation forced overtime against Vashon, added seven.
"We just came up a little short," Jones said. "All the teams here are good teams, no team that makes it to the Final Four is sorry, so you've got to bring your "A' game every time you play."
Helias (21-10) had seven seniors playing together for the final time.
"All of us grew up together, playing against each other sometimes and for each other sometimes," Koelling said. "To finish it this way puts a cherry on the top."