By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

ALGONA—Algona outscored St. Edmond 37-24 in the second half to earn a 65-56 North Central Conference boys basketball victory over the Gaels on Friday, Jan. 7.

Garrett Goche poured a game-high 24 points to lead the winners as teammate Caden Weber also reached double digits with 10 points while Hayden Mayer tossed in 24 points for the visitors and Quinton McCardville added 11 more.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

ALGONA—Bishop Garrigan remained perfect in girls basketball Top of Iowa Conference play on Friday, Jan. 7, with a hard-fought, 53-52 victory over the West Hancock Eagles.

The Eagles, ranked sixth in Class 2A, played almost a perfect game but it still was not enough to defeat the second-ranked Golden Bears (1A).

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

CLEAR LAKE—A trio of Algona Bulldog wrestlers earned individual titles to highlight the performances of the red-and-black on Saturday, Jan. 8, at the Clear Lake Invitational.

Isaac Wilson at 106 pounds, Jacob Zabka at 113 and Tate Slagle at 120 pounds each won individual titles as Hayden Thompson at 132 and Brandon Harris at 152 pounds took second place.

ALGONA—West Hancock out-scored Bishop Garrigan 7-2 in overtime on Friday, Jan. 7, to squeeze out a 47-42 Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball victory over the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears.

The home team jumped out to a 16-6 advantage at the conclusion of the first quarter and took a 26-20 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The black-and-gold trailed 31-28 heading into the fourth period and the league contest was deadlocked at 40-40 at the end of regulation.

GARNER—Garner-Hayfield/Ventura stayed alone in second place in the Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball standings with a 55-37 victory over the North Union Warriors on Friday, Jan. 7.

The home team got out to a 14-5 lead at the end of the first stanza and increased their advantage to 29-10 at intermission. The Cardinals led 46-18 at the conclusion of the third quarter of play.

SIOUX RAPIDS—Sioux Central handed West Bend-Mallard a 54-29 Twin Lakes Conference boys basketball loss on Friday, Jan. 7.

The home team took a 14-10 lead at the conclusion of the first eight minutes of play. The Rebels held a 20-16 advantage at the halftime break and broke the contest open in the third period by taking a 40-19 lead into the fourth quarter.

ALGONA—Algona built a big first half lead and never looked back in a 60-24 North Central Conference girls basketball victory on Friday, Jan. 7, over the St. Edmond Gaels.

The red-and-black led 14-8 at the conclusion of the first period and increased their advantage to 34-18 at intermission. The home team took a commanding 51-24 lead into the final eight minutes of action.

ARMSTRONG—North Union built a big lead early and never looked back on Tuesday, Jan. 4, in a 61-16 Top of Iowa Conference girls basketball blowout victory over the Eagle Grove Eagles.

The green-black-and-silver led 14-4 at the end of the game’s first eight minutes of play. The home team took a commanding 37-8 advantage at halftime and led 54-10 at the conclusion of the third quarter.

GRAETTINGER—North Union placed eighth and West Bend-Mallard finished 11^th on Saturday, Jan. 8, at the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire wrestling tournament.

The Warriors amassed a total of 91 points during the day to finish in eighth place in the 11-team field while the Wolverines scored 45 points to place 11^th.

CLARION—Clarion-Goldfield/Dows won the final three matches of the evening to steal a 35-33 North Central Conference dual wrestling victory from the Algona Bulldogs on Thursday, Jan. 6.

The Bulldogs got falls on the night from Jacob Zabka at 113 pounds, Tate Slagle at 120 pounds and Chase Roof at 195 pounds.

SIOUX RAPIDS—West Bend-Mallard went on the road on Friday, Jan. 7, and dropped a Twin Lakes Conference girls basketball decision to the Sioux Central Rebels by the score of 68-40.

The home team started fast, racing out to a 25-6 lead. The Rebels increased that advantage to 44-19 at intermission and led 56-30 at the conclusion of the third quarter.

ALGONA—Algona stepped out of North Central Conference boys basketball play on Saturday, Jan. 8, but dropped a 53-44 decision to the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura Cardinals.

Tyler Manske led the Bulldogs in scoring with 13 points while teammate Garrett Goche also reached double digits with 12 points.

Caden Weber chipped in with seven points as Alex Manske contributed five points closely followed by Ben Helmers with four points and Tristin Larsen scored three points.

ALGONA—Carter Bruckhoff sank a charity shot with two seconds remaining to give the Forest City Indians a 53-52 Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball victory on Tuesday, Jan. 4, over the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears.

It was a disappointing loss for Bishop Garrigan, who led almost the entire contest. The black-and-gold led 10-8 at the end of the first period before taking a 26-24 advantage to the locker room at halftime and also led 43-39 heading into the final quarter.

ARMSTRONG—Earning their sixth overall victory of the season, the North Union Warrior boys basketball team won a 53-41 Top of Iowa Conference win over the Eagle Grove Eagles on Tuesday, Jan. 4.

North Union led by four points at the conclusion of the first period before taking a 24-19 advantage to the locker room at intermission. The home team also took a 40-29 lead at the end of the third quarter of play.

ALGONA—Algona was limited to just 12 points in the second half as Garner-Hayfield/Ventura rallied on Saturday, Jan. 8, for a 43-33 non-conference girls basketball victory.

The Bulldogs led 9-8 at the end of the first stanza and held a 21-19 advantage at intermission. The Cardinals rallied to lead 33-30 heading into the final quarter of action.