-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Angelo Winkel of Bishiop Garrigan dunk against St. Edmond during Class 1A district finals on Thursday in Garner

GARNER — TJ Schnurr heard the halftime adjustments from the Bishop Garrigan coaches.

After seeing St. Edmond jump out to a 36-31 lead at the break, the Golden Bears were thinking of switching from man-to-man defense to a zone.

Schnurr disagreed.

Bishop Garrigan went on to claim the Class 1A, District 3 title here Thursday night with a convincing 71-53 victory, advancing to Saturday’s Substate 2 final in Clear Lake vs. Janesville (19-4).

“We talked at the half about making the change, but I had faith in our defense,” said Schnurr, who scored 18 points, including 11 in the second half. “I knew we could limit them if we stayed in man-to-man and I let the coaches know that. They trusted me and I trusted my teammates.”

Angelo Winkel finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, with Cade Winkel adding 15 for the Golden Bears (18-6 overall).

“We were down against them in the regular season, but we knew we could play better,” Schnurr said. “This just feels incredible. The seniors haven’t made it past this round so we are going to enjoy this one.”

Andrew Gibb led the Gaels (12-11) with 20 points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. He ends his SEHS career with 1,568 career points, a school-record.

“We knew their size would be tough, but these kids they battled,” St. Edmond head coach Adolph Kochendorfer said. “I thought in the first half, we had that extra energy to get to those loose balls. In the second half, their size wore on us and we were exhausted.”

The game marked the final appearance in a Gael uniform for Gibb, Jackson Kochendorfer, Sean Newell and Mitchell Rasmussen. Kochendorfer finished with 11 points, with Rasmussen scoring seven and Newell four. Jed Tracy added six points off the bench.

“Those four really left a lasting impression on St. Edmond basketball and the younger kids,” Kochendorfer said. “I am extremely proud of all four of them.”

Angelo Winkel scored 14 in the first quarter as all five Gael starters recorded points. The balance of St. Edmond helped them to a 34-24 lead thanks to a 12-2 run late in the second quarter.

In the third, Angelo and Cade Winkel scored eight consecutive points for the Golden Bears as they claimed a lead they would never surrender.

Schnurr, who played on the same All Iowa Attack team as Gibb for the past two years, was tasked with defending the all-state guard. The future Morningside player is Garrigan’s career rebounding leader and second on the scoring charts behind Brad Nelson.

“I’ve played with Andrew and I know how talented of a player he is,” Schnurr said. “When I made the push to stick with our man-to-man defense, I knew that meant I would be guarding him one-on-one. I wanted that challenge.”

BISHOP GARRIGAN 71,

ST. EDMOND 53

Bishop Garrigan — Angelo Winkel 22, TJ Schnurr 18, Cade Winkel 15, John Joyce 8, Tristan Ferguson 6, Anthony Arndorfer 0, Marcus Plathe 0.

St. Edmond — Andrew Gibb 20, Jackson Kochendorfer 11, Mitchell Rasmussen 7, Jed Tracy 6, Drew Schaeffer 5, Sean Newell 4, Cael Kolacia 0.

Quarter scores: Bishop Garrigan led 18-16, St. Edmond led 36-31, Bishop Garrigan led 47-44.