BUFFALO CENTER—The Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear boys basketball team earned their seventh straight victory with an 83-53 rout over the North Iowa Bison in a Top of Iowa Conference contest on Friday, Jan. 3.

The black-and-gold raced out to a 24-8 lead after the first eight minutes of action. The visitors led 41-24 at halftime and put the contest away in the third stanza as they took a commanding 66-35 advantage into the fourth quarter of play.

BUFFALO CENTER—Third-ranked Bishop Garrigan knocked off the rust from the Christmas break early and rolled to a 64-18 Top of Iowa Conference girls basketball win on Friday, Jan. 3 over the North Iowa Lady Bison.

After a slow start, the black-and-gold led 16-6 at the end of the first stanza. The Golden Bears headed things up in the second period by increasing their advantage to 38-12 at intermission and took a commanding 55-14 lead into the game’s final eight minutes of play.

ARMSTRONG—Lake Mills dialed long distance 12 times for successful three-pointers in a 68-37 Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball victory on Friday, Jan. 3 over the North Union Warriors.

The visitors came out of the locker room on fire by taking a commanding 23-3 lead after the game’s first eight minutes of action.

The Bulldogs took a 39-15 advantage into the halftime break and the purple-and-gold also led 53-27 heading into the final eight minutes of the contest.

WEST BEND—Returning all-stater Derek Paulsen put on quite a show in South O’Brien’s 69-27 non-conference boys basketball victory over the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines on Friday, Jan. 3.

The athletic Paulsen poured in a game-high 30 points, including six slam dunks on 14 of 20 shooting from the floor in the non-conference win.

EMMETSBURG—Senior Brennen Bollinger won all five of his matches to highlight the performances of the North Union Warriors’ wrestling team at the Emmetsburg Duals on Saturday, Jan. 4.

The green-black-and-silver went 2-3 on the day as a team and finished sixth as a team in the eight-team field with wins over Emmetsburg 36-33 and East Sac County 42-36, but fell to Saint Ansgar 48-18, Alta-Aurelia 60-23 and Earlham by the final score of 59-17.

WEST BEND—A great floor game by senior Tiffany Fehr helped keep the West Bend-Mallard Wolverine girls basketball team undefeated on the year with a 61-18 non-conference win over the Eagle Grove Eagles on Monday, Jan. 6.

Fehr recorded a triple-double to spear-head the victory with 17 points, yanked down 10 caroms, handed out 10 assists and registered six steals.

ARMSTRONG—After winning their season opener, the North Union Warrior boys basketball team have dropped seven straight games.

But, the green-black-and-silver got back on the winning track on Monday, Jan. 6 with a 65-28 non-conference victory over the Central Springs Panthers.

The home team got out of the game fast, leading 27-3 after a big first quarter where they connected on 10 of 17 field goals, including draining five shots behind the three-point arc.

ARMSTRONG—North Union picked up an important Top of Iowa Conference girls basketball victory on Friday, Jan. 3 with a 40-30 win over the Lake Mills Bulldogs.

The home team held a narrow 12-10 lead at the conclusion of the first period and took a 22-19 advantage to the locker room at intermission.

The Warriors also led 37-30 at end of the third quarter as the two teams combined to score only three points in the game’s final eight minutes of play.

FOREST CITY—Returning to action on the mat after the Christmas break, the North Union Warrior wrestling team went 1-2 in a Top of Iowa Conference quadrangular.

The green-black-and-silver defeated Rockford 54-6, but lost to Nashua-Plainfield 65-15 and to the Forest City Indians by the final score of 58-24.

WEST BEND—Eagle Grove buried 11 three-pointers in a 69-41 non-conference boys basketball contest on Monday, Jan. 6 over the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines.

The visitors built a 24-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased their advantage to 42-21 at halftime. The Eagles enjoyed a 54-30 lead after three quarters of basketball.

JANUARY

The Algona Bulldog boys wrestling team crowned four champions and five runner-ups to place first at the Clear Lake Invitational with a team score of 236 points.

In a battle of ranked Top of Iowa Conference girls basketball squads, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears defeated the Forest City Indians by the final score of 49-45 at Forest City.

Former Algona High School football player James Wartick was a member of the Grand View football team that won the NAIA national championship on Saturday, Dec. 21 at Durham, NC as they defeated defending national champions and top-ranked Keiser 35-7. Wartick is a starter on the offensive line for the Vikings.