ARMSTRONG—North Union built a big lead and held off a late run by Bishop Garrigan on Friday, Dec. 17, in a 72-61 Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball victory over the Golden Bears.

The home team started fast by taking a 22-9 lead at the conclusion of the first stanza and built a 38-22 advantage at halftime. The green-black-and-silver took a 57-34 at the end of third period and held off a late run by the visitors.

ALGONA—In a low-scoring Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball contest, the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura Cardinals defeated the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears 48-32 on Tuesday, Dec. 14.

The visitors held an 11-5 lead at the conclusion of the first eight minutes of play and took a 17-13 advantage to the locker room at halftime. The Cardinals extended the lead to 38-25 at the end of the third quarter.

HUMBOLDT—Algona had the lead in the opening frame but the Humboldt Wildcats led the final 24 minutes on Tuesday, Dec. 14, and went onto a 51-43 North Central Conference girls basketball victory over the red-and-black.

The visitors held a two point lead at 7-5 at the conclusion of the first period but the blue-and-gold took a 21-17 advantage to the locker room at intermission and led 34-28 at the end of the third quarter.

BELMOND—North Union improved to 3-0 on the year in Top of Iowa Conference girls’ basketball play with a hard-fought 44-33 victory on Tuesday, Dec. 14 over the Belmond-Klemme Broncos.

The 12^th ranked Warriors started fast by taking an early 14-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 23-16 at halftime. The green-black-and-silver held a 34-24 advantage into the fourth period of action.

ALGONA—Bishop Garrigan remained undefeated in Top of Iowa Conference play as the second-ranked Golden Bears started fast on Tuesday, Dec. 14, as they went onto a 72-32 girls basketball victory over the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura Cardinals.

The black-and-gold got out quickly by taking a 20-5 advantage at the conclusion of the game’s first eight minutes. The home team also led 36-10 at halftime and 58-18 at the end of the third period.

WEST BEND—Sophomore Kierstin Montag poured in 17 points and yanked down 18 rebounds to help lead the West Bend-Mallard Wolverine girls basketball squad to their second straight win on Friday, Dec. 17, with a 53-47 Twin Lakes Conference victory over the Alta-Aurelia Warriors.

The home team trailed 8-6 at the conclusion of the game’s first eight minutes but took a 23-18 advantage at halftime. West Bend-Mallard also led 39-27 after three quarters of basketball.

HUMBOLDT—The Algona Bulldogs wrestling squad picked up a trio of victories on Thursday, Dec. 16, including a pair of North Central Conference matches.

The red-and-black won a pair of close league matches as they beat Humboldt 42-34 and Hampton-Dumont by the score of 37-36 and also won a 42-36 non-conference match over the Ballard Bombers.

CHEROKEE—Dalton Tobin placed second at 145 pounds on Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Paul Fuhrman Invitational to highlight the performances of the North Union Warriors wrestling squad.

Both Ethan Preston and Liam Kollasch were third as Breenan Bollinger and Kolton Walter took fourth place. Gavyn Morphew and Talan Priester each finished in fifth place as Lucas Dreyer was sixth. The Warriors scored 96.5 points to place sixth in the team standings.

BRITT—Lucas Fehr finished in second place at 126 pounds to highlight the performances of the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines wrestling squad on Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Al DeLeon Invitational.

Both Ben Massner and Alphonso Martinez placed fifth for the purple-and-gold while teammates Logan Grimm and Trenedy Allen were sixth. The Wolverines scored 32 team points to finish in sixth place in the team standings.

SWEA CITY—North Union wrestled at home for the first time this season on Tuesday, Dec. 14, and did not disappoint the hometown fans as they earned three victories.

The Warriors defeated Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire 42-39 before topping Northwood-Kensett 54-40 and ended the evening with a 60-24 victory over West Bend-Mallard.

WEST BEND—For the second time in less than 24 hours, the West Bend-Mallard Wolverine boys basketball team is in the win column with an exciting 46-45 victory over the Alta-Aurelia Warriors on Friday, Dec. 17.

Alta-Aurelia led 13-9 at the end of the first quarter and took a 24-20 advantage to the locker room at halftime. The home team led by one point at 37-36 heading into the final eight minutes of action.

ALGONA—Webster City went 9 for 11 behind the three-point arc to hand the Algona Bulldogs an 85-65 North Central Conference loss on Friday, Dec. 17.

The Lynx connected on 36 of 57 overall field goals on the evening for a sizzling 63.1 percent to earn their third victory of the season.

BELMOND—Just six games into the 2021-2022 season, the North Union Warrior boys basketball team has doubled their victory total over last season.

The latest win for the green-black-and-silver came on Tuesday, Dec. 14, as the Warriors defeated the Belmond-Klemme Broncos 73-47 in Top of Iowa Conference action.

HUMBOLDT—In a game featuring 172 points, the Humboldt Wildcats topped the Algona Bulldogs boys basketball team, 89-83, on Tuesday, Dec. 14.

The home team started fast by taking a 22-11 lead at the end of the first stanza. The Wildcats took a 42-28 advantage to the locker room at halftime and led 63-52 at the conclusion of three quarters of North Central Conference basketball action.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

FOREST CITY—Algona trailed early but a 13-0 run late in the first quarter got the engine warmed up as the red-and-black rolled to 65-39 non-conference boys’ basketball victory on Thursday, Dec. 9 over the Forest City Indians.

The home team scored the opening basket of the evening that was answered by a field goal by Tyler Manske. A three-pointer by Forest City was followed by another hoop by Tyler Manske.