The Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears are the champions of district three in class 1A after defeating Lake Mills 63-51 in Tuesday night’s district championship game in Clear Lake.
Following a familiar theme from throughout the season, the Golden Bears would grab command of the game with a strong third quarter, outscoring Lake Mills 17-8 over the penultimate eight minutes, turning a four point halftime lead into a 46-33 advantage going to the fourth.
After an and-one by Amaury Thomas gave Bishop Garrigan a 32-25 lead to start the quarter, Lake Mills nailed a couple of quick layups to cut the Golden Bear lead to two points at 32-30. Then, Bishop Garrigan initiated one of their trademark third quarter pushes, going on a 14-2 scoring run.
A second three point play by Thomas brought the score to 35-30, then a three by Tate Foertsch forced a time out by Lake Mills Head Coach Kyle Menke. The Golden Bears continued their attack coming out of the timeout, with a foul line jumper by Michael Joyce, an and-one for Joyce, and another three by Foertsch before the dust settled on the third with Bishop Garrigan up by 13.
In the fourth quarter, Lake Mills could get no closer than eight points. Foertsch continued his hot-shooting night, opening the quarter with a three from the corner to stretch the Bishop Garrigan lead to 16 points. Carter Schwab helped Bishop Garrigan keep their foot on the gas pedal, as his reverse layup at the end of the shot clock on the next possession made the score 51-33. A few Lake Mills free throws later, Thomas finished through a foul for the third time in the half, although missed the free throw on the back end, bringing the score to 53-36.
Bishop Garrigan never trailed in the game, scoring the first nine points of the first quarter, as the first bucket for the Bulldogs didn’t come until there was under three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Trailing 12-7 entering the second, Lake Mills received back to back finishes at the bucket by Jeremiah Jensen to cut the Bishop Garrigan lead to one, but Joyce answered with the next nine Bishop Garrigan points, making two three point shots, and getting a three point play by drawing a foul and cashing in a free throw, only interrupted by a couple more Lake Mills layups to give Bishop Garrigan a 22-17 lead.
Later in the second quarter, Keaton Wempen buried a three for Lake Mills, to cut the Bishop Garrigan lead to 26-25, but Schwab recaptured momentum again, with a three point play to end the half and give the Golden Bears a 29-25 lead at the break.
Joyce led four scorers in double digits for Bishop Garrigan with 17 points. Thomas finished with 16, going 6/9 from the field and 4/5 from the foul line. Foertsch chipped in 15, making 5/8 field goals, including 4/7 threes, while Schwab added 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Kane Koch led Lake Mills with 13 points in the loss.
Lake Mills ends the season 17-6 with the loss, as three of their six defeats come at the hands of Bishop Garrigan. The Golden Bears returned the favor of handing three defeats to the Bulldogs, after Lake Mills swept their three games with Bishop Garrigan last season, including the district title game. Bishop Garrigan moves on to face St. Edmond on Saturday night in Humboldt in the substate final at 7 P.M. Live coverage can be heard on KLGZ 98.5 FM/AM 1600, with video streaming on the Algona Radio YouTube channel.
