Class 1A – District 3 Final
Bishop Garrigan 85
Nashua-Plainfield 48
The Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear boys basketball team is heading to the substate final for the second year in a row, and will play for their first state trip since 2020 on Saturday night, after using an electric performance to defeat the Nashua-Plainfield Huskies 85-48 in the class 1A – district 3 final Tuesday night.
Michael Joyce scored a career high of 40 points, making 14 out of 20 shots from the field and all 9 of his free throw attempts. Joyce’s previous career high came with a 39 point game on February 10th at North Iowa.
Bishop Garrigan came out swinging early, roaring to a 27-5 lead after one quarter. The Huskies got as close as an 11 point deficit in the second, going on a 17-4 run of their own, before going into the locker room down 40-26.
In the second half, the Golden Bears offense continued clicking, outscoring the Huskies 24-15 in the 3rd quarter and 21-7 in the 4th. Bishop Garrigan scored the first 13 points of the fourth, ballooning their lead to 77-41 and removing all doubt of the game’s outcome.
In addition to the 40 point by Joyce, Carter Schwab recorded 11 points and 11 assists, while Amaury Thomas scored 12 points with 9 boards.
Bishop Garrigan improves to 22-2 on the season, and will take on 21-3 South Winneshiek on Saturday night in Mason City in the substate 2 final. Nashua-Plainfield ends their season at 17-8.
Class 1A – District 2 Final
North Union 52
Belmond-Klemme 50
The North Union Warriors boys basketball team proved that the third time is the charm, defeating the Belmond-Klemme Broncos 52-50 in the class 1A – district 2 final on Tuesday night after losing both regular season games to the Broncos.
The Warriors at one point trailed 28-12 in the third quarter, but closed strong, getting the deficit down to just one at 30-29 after scoring the final 14 points of the third.
In the fourth, North Union trailed by three with 30 seconds to go, but fought back to take a one point lead. Cole Nicoson hit Khael Jones on a backdoor cut to bring Belmond-Klemme’s lead to one. On the ensuing inbounds play, the Broncos were hit with a 5 second call. Jones then scored from the lane to give the Warriors the lead.
Kale Pletsch got two free throws with seven seconds left for Belmond-Klemme, needing one to tie, but missed both. Juan Medina got the rebound for the Broncos, but Warrior senior Drew Henderson blocked the putback attempt.
Jones scored 19 points to lead the Warriors, while Brody Heifner paced Belmond-Klemme with 26 in the loss.
North Union moves to 15-9, and will take on class 1A #2 MMCRU on Saturday night in Storm Lake in the substate final. Belmond-Klemme wraps up their season at 17-6.
